The Ashbringer: Shinobi of the Light
by HoNdeR
Summary: A very young Naruto finds himself burdened with the weight of a legendary sword from another world. How will the young boy cope with it as he pushes himself through adventures and heartbeats? Down the path of the Paladin... down the path of the Ashbringer
1. Chapter 1: Faith

_**A/N: **_**It's been bugging me a lot lately... I just couldn't wait to get this story going. So, here is the beginning of yet another tale. **

**NO idea what World of Warcraft is? No problem! There won't be that many referrences on the game and if they are, they will be explained, at least at some point. It might be confusing at first, but I hope that on the second and third chapter things will be clearer... oh well, this story WILL BE REMOVED if I don't have enough positive feedback ^^ Can't write something people don't like, now can I?  
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_**The Ashbringer: Shinobi of the Light**_

_**Chapter1: Faith**_

_**In the artic lands of Northrend, two figures battle for the fate of the world…**_

_**When shadow comes to claim our souls, some must rise, the light of old. Names in stone, spirits in legend, deeds unknown, yet never forgotten.**_

_**These are the Duranin, of honor within, and of fear without**_

_**Remember them**_

_**When in hope you doubt…**_

_**XxxxX**_

"Arthaaaaaaas!" a mighty voice yelled in the howling winds, his armor glowing with the roll of thunder, sword blazing in his hands as he gazed with hatred at his opponent…

Arthas Menethil(1)…

The Lich King(2)

"Your time has come!" and with that, the warrior of the Light leapt forward, blade prepared to strike as his enemy clad in a dark armor that was seemingly the opposite of his raised his own to parry…

The two swords clashed and the sound of metal against metal seemed to linger in the air for endless seconds as grey eyes glared into teal ones, the color practically leaking out of the crown of the lord of the dead.

"_**You, are a fool Tyrion! None can stop me!"**_ his voice sounded like a combination of two, a small chorus that echoed in the wind. Power surged in his runeblade as he pushed the warrior back, he faltering for no more than a second before he prepared himself again, his own sword blazing with the fire of Light…

"Your reign of terror is over Arthas! I will make sure of that!" he yelled once more as he shot forward, this time the parry less powerful as Light and Darkness alike fought to overpower each other, the golden power forced out of Tyrion's blade a contradiction to Arthas's own dark waves of pulsing force.

"_**Ugh…" **_the self-proclaimed king seemed to falter as he clenched his teeth, memories flooding in his mind… memories of all those he had betrayed, memories of the ones he once loved… but that was a long time ago. He had no soul nor heart now to care…

His eyes blazed with the chill of death as he forced the Paladin away once more.

"_**I,**__** am the Lich King! I, AM ETERNAL!" **_his mighty shout could terrify any poor soul that was in proximity to listen. But not him… Tyrion stood adamant, inhaling the cold heavily as he battled to breath…

Atop Icecrown Citadel(3) they stood, the thundering sky above them, marks of combat and destruction all around the massive balcony of Arthas's stronghold.

The man that held the hope of an entire world in his hands prepared himself for a final strike. He had to end this, less the Lich king called upon help…

He set his blade before him, the Light burning once more, setting the mighty steel ablaze.

The Ashbringer(4) would shine… at least for one last time.

Frostmourne(5)… the runeblade of the master of death… blazed in its own darkness, the chill of death seeping out of it as the carved eyeholes in the hilt of said sword shone with deathly teal light…

He was no fool… he wouldn't let Tyrion defeat him. He wouldn't let his eternal reign of undeath end so soon…

Preparing to counter anything the Paladin would throw at him, the lord of undeath brought his blade up, tip facing towards his opponent. The runes started glowing as power surged through the sword…

"It is time to finish this… let the Light drive my hand…" Tyrion whispered to himself as he called upon the Light, called upon all his might and power… two wings took form behind him, two wings that flapped with angelic grace and shone with the brilliance of the sun…

"Divine Wrath…" and with these simple words, the wielder of hope charged forward one last time…

The Lich King was prepared, pikes of ice shooting off from the tip of his blade, the charging Paladin unwavering as he pushed forward through each and every one of them. Seeing his ranged assault fail, he drove Frostmourne to the ground…

And as he did so, countless bodies rose from nowhere, crystals of darkness fell from the sky only to form into the undead…

The summoned legion of undeath charged mindlessly at the already moving warrior of the Light, he only swinging the Ashbringer with endless fury, slicing through any of the monstrosities that dared approach.

In the last possible second, Arthas parried a strike that could cut him in half with ease as he found it hard to even hold out against the strength that was put behind it. Tyrion was really giving it his all, the Light his companion in this epic battle.

He pushed… but to no avail. The wings at the back of his counterpart blew once, shining brightly as they swept away any monster that dared approach…

The undead shrieked in fear as the power intensified…

"_**Fool! You're giving**__** your own soul for these mortals?!"**_ the king of the dead shouted in a vain attempt to hinder the warrior's motivation. But he was unwavering yet again…

"I am giving my soul for what is righteous! I am giving my life for justice! The reckoning has come, Arthas!" and with one final, mighty push, the Paladin's whole power surged outwards, blinding anyone in the vicinity with it's intensity, burning any undead with purging fire…

_**One tale must come to an end…**_

XxxxX

_**For another…**_

_**To begin…**_

A young, blond boy sat atop the Hokage monument, gazing down upon his home… what he at least wanted to call home. In all his ten young years of life, he still hadn't got used to all this hatred…

And for what? Why did he have to pay for sins he possibly hadn't committed and if he had, wasn't aware of? He sighed… maybe that was one mystery of life that he would simply never decipher…

His young mind hadn't drifted off enough yet to not notice what happened next. Through the wide blue sky, something was coming down as it shone in the light of the sun…

Where there shooting stars during daytime too?

Curious he was, as he saw the object coming in a mighty crush somewhere in the forests of Konoha, not too far from the village walls. Standing to his feet, he quickly run down to the busy streets of the town, intent of finding out just what this 'star' was…

Completely ignoring the glares and whispers around him as he passed through the districts of the town, he finally found himself at the gates of the village…

The guard was soundly asleep on his chair as usual… there wasn't any traffic this time of the year and this time of the day in particular whatsoever anyway. If he wasn't in a hurry, he would pull a prank on the man for sure…

Running outside, he looked around for any clues that would help him find the mysterious 'star' that fell from the sky. Seeing a shadow move at his left, he made the wild guess that it was a shinobi who had also seen it…

Without further ado, he did his best to follow the shadowy figure…

XxxxX

"Wow…" the man exclaimed as he gazed upon the small crater. It was simply… amazing…

He had never seen anything like this… and he had seen many things in his life, that was for sure…

There, lied the manifestation of perfection. The blade was flat and long, yet it's sharpness was not to be questioned by the mere sight of it. The hilt was decorated with red and yellow colors… but what surprised him most was that…

As the blade went on from the hilt, runes decorated its outline and a small curve found itself a little before the edge, then curved up again to meet the end of the weapon.

And right where the curve was… lied what looked like a round narrow orb. And what was this on it…? It looked like, a palm. The distance between the fingers closed and the palm facing upwards, the small object hovering slowly up and down, not too far from the weapon but neither touching it. It seemed to hung from bare air…

His hand stretched to grab the manifestation of purity, joyous feelings filling his heart as he neared…

"What's that?" a young voice said from behind. He jumped from reflex and quickly turned around to look at the newcomer. Said boy looked curiously at the object within the crater, it itself amazed by the sight. The shinobi smirked, noticing the wild blond hair and whisker marks…

It just couldn't be more perfect. The demon was right here in front of him, and it was as if heaven itself had dropped this divine weapon to smite down the little monstrosity. He fully grasped the hilt of the blade and rose it from the ground…

The little boy felt a shiver run down his spine as he took sight of the smirk on the shinobi's face. Said man lifted the sword with ease, aiming it at the blond…

"Finally… I shall kill the demon and be deemed a hero!" he laughed…

And the blade shot away from his hand, a jolt of golden thunder hitting the limp that held the sword, it shooting away and embedding itself in a tree…

"What the hell?" he gripped his now wounded hand… could this weapon be guarded by Raiton seals or something? Most likely…

Well, there wasn't a problem. They were out here… alone.

"Heheheh…" he reached into his pouch, the cackle that was his slow laughter growing in intensity as he gripped a kunai.

The blond boy looked on in fear. There wasn't anyone to help him out here, and he didn't have any weapons…

He glanced at the embedded in wood sword… it was the only free weapon… but it had rejected the other shinobi's grasp, why would it obey his?

There wasn't much of a choice. He just had to do it or die. His feet quickly brought him near the blade and his relatively small hands grasped the hilt and pulled with all the strength his body could muster.

The older ninja only kept chuckling, sure in the vainness of the little boy's attempts…

Yet his eyes went wide as the blonde managed to pull the blade out of the wood…

Said boy was stunned at how light the weapon was, despite its size in comparison with his own small frame….

The assailant didn't back away though, even when he realized that the sword stayed in the blonde's hand. He took one step forward…

And through the blade shone light with intensity that none of the two individuals had ever thought possible…

As it faded, both small and big frames stood still at the sight before them…

It was a tall, muscular man, clad in golden-white armor with blue and white sashes covering his shoulder armor and waist. Short straight grey hair that reached only a few inches before his shoulders decorated the top of the figure, a similar grey beard gracing chin and face. His eyes slowly opened…

Only to reveal nothing but golden light shining through them…

The figure also had a large tome on his waist, and the weapon he held was an exact copy of the sword the kid held in hand.

And what amazed them both was, that the form was ethereal…

"Leave the boy be…" the figure commanded as it looked upon the assailant, raising his own blade to aim the tip at him. The man only snickered…

"As if!" and he charged forward…

Yet before he could even come close, the ethereal form moved swiftly, driving its blade through the man's heart…

He looked down, bewildered that he indeed had a gaping wound on his chest…

And before he could even ponder on it, his now lifeless body hit the ground…

The young boy stared in bewilderment and amazement, the concrete sword trembling in his hands…

"Wh…wha…" he couldn't find the correct words to describe what he was trying to think…

"Do not worry, young one" the ethereal form said as his eyes softened, gazing upon the boy. "Hold on the sword…" he started dissipating, retreating back into the blade…

The blond knew better than to defy his savior, even if the means that he used where a little… unexpected.

When the whole ghostly substance was absorbed into the sword, he suddenly felt something… as if… as if something… or someone… was there… with him.

'_**Do not worry boy… all shall be revealed… in due time…'**_ he heard a voice in his own mind…

'_**For now… other matters… at hand…'**_ the voice was wavering, echoing in his mind as if the speaker was struggling to talk.

He saw another flash of light shining…

And the sword was gone, a few small snowflakes of light all that remained behind…

What the hell was going on, anyway?

XxxxX

The Sandaime was a clever man, that much was something he would allow himself to have credit for. His wary old eyes had seen many things in his long lifetime, things that most people would prefer to keep in the dark corners of their imagination.

And here he was, Sandaime Hokage of Konohagakure no sato, leader of men.

He let his gaze drift off in the endless series of buildings and rooftops from his vast window in the Hokage's office. It was a beautiful morning…

A sigh escaped his aged lips as he remembered what had occurred a mere month ago. Yet another assault on the young jinchuuriki of Leaf. Sometimes, he wondered just how much IQ one could need to see the truth…

But he couldn't really blame them. Considering the massacre Kyuubi had created that night, and the fact that rumors are a mighty weapon when used right, the people of the village may have been irrational about their opinions over the child, but well enough within the bounds of human nature. This particular part of humanity is what Sarutobi despised at times…

Humans fear the unknown. They trust in unbiased words when their very eyes show them the truth. Word of mouth indeed…

He decided to put the matter on the corner of his mind yet again. That assault had been stopped by him personally and there were a handful of men that went to jail that night. And where still there.

Turning around, he inhaled slowly from his favorite pipe, the substance soothing his nerves as the day ahead would be… as the Nara clan would state, troublesome.

An eyebrow was raised in curiosity as he spotted the stacks of paperwork… did they just get larger or was it just his idea…?

Of course, the aged Sarutobi failed to notice the object that fell from the sky and in the forests of Konohagakure…

XxxxX

"**I… sense… run boy… get out of here…" **the voice in his head seemed more sturdy now, if only a little distant, as if someone was yelling at him from afar, yet managing to keep his voice in a decent tune. Awkward…

Yet he obeyed as his ears picked up sounds coming from the south, the direction of the village. He guessed he wasn't the only one to see the falling object…

And if the former encounter with the murderous leaf ninja was any indicator, it would be no fun to find himself among bunches of them…

Plus, he still had to go to the academy… he had woken up far earlier than usual today and as much as he would struggle in bed, he just couldn't sleep again till time for school came.

So here he was, young Uzumaki Naruto running through the forest, careful to avoid the approaching crowd, heading towards the village, one of the mightiest weapons known in existence now in his hands…

XxxxX

The armored warrior frowned as he gazed upon the mighty pillars that seemed to form some kind of cage, a rune of some sort etched on a paper that was stuck in the middle concrete round object.

He took one step forward… he could feel it, it was as obvious to him as if he was looking at a bright blue sky.

There was something evil in there… something so evil, so tainted, that even he, could have flinched had he not experienced similar situations…

Two blood red eyes opened from the darkness, frowning down at his form.

"**What is the meaning of this? What do you want here…"** the voice was dark, ominous, promise of endless suffering under every word. The armored man though stood relentless before the mighty presence before him. Yet he knew that demons always meant their threats… subsequent or straight, it didn't matter.

"**Paladin?"**

XxxxX

The hyperactive boy was finally at his apartment. He still had around half an hour before the clock hit 8 a.m.

The Hokage had decided to let the classes start one hour later than the usual 7 o'clock in the morning, allowing the students at least a little more time of sleep while making the classes end yet another hour later during noon. That way, as it was shown, the shinobi-under-training of Konoha had found it far easier to concentrate and perform even better at class, rising the potential of the future of Konoha.

It's amazing what an hour can do, is it not?

The young blonde already had his usual trademark jumpsuit on so… what was there to make the day _really _begin?

Why of course,

Ramen!

XxxxX

"Well, well… what do we have here?" his voice was strong, yet light altogether. The Paladin scanned the round concrete boulders up and down…

"A demon in a cage… what a rare sight to behold" he stepped forward, a hand reaching out, gloved fingertips touching the stone.

Two humongous claws shot out from the small openings the bars allowed, the plate armor wearer not even flinching as the claws crashed next to each of his sides, the noise they made on impact thundering through the otherwise sewer of a mindscape.

"Pitiful…" was all he muttered as he stepped back, turning around to walk away.

"**If only I was free, human. If only I was free…" **the beast's tone was one of clear irritation. How it wished it could just get out there and slice the insolent beard-face in pieces…

"If you were free…" a hand stretched out, light shining around the extended limp as some kind of weapon started to form…

"And met me along the way…" the light subsided, illuminating snowflakes of said light flickering around the summoned instrument of battle.

No… the demon couldn't believe in his eyes…

"You would be nothing but ashes" and with that, the Paladin walked away, into the shadowy corridors of this troubled mind, the Light his beacon through a kingdom of darkness…

XxxxX

Ahh… ramen could miracles on him. It could replenish any energy he had lost, it was his favorite fuel to start, converse through, and the day.

He stepped outside his apartment, closing and locking the door behind him. He took a step forward and stopped mid-track…

He had forgotten his favorite goggles inside! Well, no matter, one day without them wouldn't be that much of a tragedy… he guessed… plus, he was going to be late already…

XxxxX

He kept wondering through the seemingly endless dark corridors, only a soft deem light illuminating his way… not that he really needed it anyway.

He was searching for something specific… something that would help him achieve the little purpose that he had inclined to himself. There wasn't much else to do anyway…

Plus, it was his duty as the former wielder of the blade to guide the next bearer… to guide him down the right path, less the sword turned on the dark side again…

A Naaru's(6) essence is just freaking troublesome at times…

A hand found itself in front of his face. Concentrating, he let the Light flow through him as he scanned the illusionary mindscape…

There. The door he wanted was roughly a minute's walk away from his position… if time was even relevant in here, of course.

No time to waste, the sooner he began, the better. His plated boots echoed throughout the endless labyrinth of a mind, the sound vibrating through every surface. He could never stop feeling amused at such otherwise trivial things… his armor sounded so heavy yet it felt so light…

Oh well, he could ponder on this later on. Other matters where at hand, where they not?

XxxxX

There it was! The academy! He still had around two or three minutes before class began… he might as well take a stroll rather than rush in like a maniac. He pumped into Sasuke last time he did… and the position they had found themselves in all of a sudden had the swarm of fan-girls surrounding him looming above them like a thunderstorm ready to rage and on this case… it raged on poor Naruto…

And oh the irony, speak of the devil… scratch that, make them devils…

Sasuke was just walking into the academy, his emo-side on full force as he ignored Sakura's endless pestering on dates and how cool mister 'I'm the Alpha Emo' was.

Damn the Uchiha! Damn him to hell and beyond! Why couldn't Sakura just for once lean away from the teme, why couldn't she see him? Uzumaki Naruto?! What did the brooding emo had more than he did?!

"**Self consciousness… rationality… heritage… a functioning brain… want me to continue?" **the young boy jumped at the sound of the voice. What was going on? He made a full turn around himself, but there wasn't a soul in the vicinity… everyone was already inside…

Oh crap, he was going to be late again!

XxxxX

Thankfully enough, he had walked in right after Iruka-sensei, so he was most unlikely to get scolded today… again.

And there it was! A spot of heaven! A sit was open next to Sakura-chan!

One foot raised itself in order to bring the blond yet another step next to his crush…

And behold, heaven found it funny to mock him, a no-namer sitting next to the best girl in the whole world! And leaving him hanging there to add to it!

"**If you exclude the lack of intelligence, a forehead that a Gnome****(6) can land an airplane on, temper far worse than Xarxas's… and hate for everything that opposes the object of her… uhh, affections, for lack of a better term"**

The voice was speaking slowly, calmly, as if it knew every word that was supposed to be said. As if it _knew_ what it wanted to say. And during the small speech, Naruto was frantically looking around, surprised that there was no one talking to him whatsoever. And what was the weirdest among all... the voice sounded distant, as if it echoed through a thousand tunnels…

"Naruto! Sit down!" Iruka commanded, irritated at the noise that the class was making in overall. And the blonde was still standing! He wasn't a man to let his anger flare easily, but he hoped his students, especially Naruto, would be respectful enough to just sit down rather than have him verbally make them do it…

The blond seemed in a trance as he sat next to the first sit he found in front of him. He missed the small 'Eep' of surprise that was elicited from someone next to him, his eyes gazing off into nothing…

"**Now… I would like you to concentrate young one… for I have a long… really long tale to tell…" **

XxxxX

(1): Arthas Menethil: Son of Terenas Menethil, Prince of the kingdom of Lordaeron, Paladin at first, an ex-Paladin later on, Death Knight and finally, Lich King.

(2): The Lich King: The fused soul's of the Death Knight Arthas and the armor of Ner'zhul, a warlock of the old that was trapped in an icy throne for years in the artic roof of the world. The Lich King is the leader of the undead in Azeroth, his purpose the decimation of all life

(3): Icecrown Citadel: The Lich King's citadel and home in the region of Icecrown. The citadel is a fortified position from where Arthas commands the undead…

(4): The Ashbringer: During the Second War between Humans and Orcs, Alexandros Mograine found a strange crystal of darkness that was dropped from a killed Orc warlock. After a few years, Alexandros met with other followers of the Light, and assuming that this crystal was a manifestation of Darkness, its polar opposite should also exist. Through using the Light, they turned this crystal in an object of purity. Later on, Alexandros gave the crystal to Magni, the king of the dwarfs, who forged the legendary blade for the Paladin to wield. With the help of the Ashbringer, Alexandros became the bane of all undead… the tale goes on from then on, the Ashbringer changing wielders from time to time… and changing sides, from Light and Darkness…

(5): Frostmourne: Many years ago, Arthas Menethil had made an expedition in Northrend to defeat the leader of the undead and avenge his people. To do this, he searched for the legendary runeblade, Frostmourne. Upon finding it, he called upon the spirits of the vault to give him the blade so he could avenge his people. The icy pedestal exploded, freeing Frostmourne and killing Muradin Bronzebeard, friend and companion. With no remorse, Arthas picked up the blade and defeated his enemy… The blade was forged by the Lich King, Ner'zhul himself, and was empowered to steal souls. His was the first one it took… wandering off in the frozen wastelands of Northrend, Arthas lost the last remnants of his sanity… after returning home and murdering his father with the blade, Arthas was Ner'zhul's first Death Knight…

(6): Gnome: Really short humanoids, even shorter than a dwarf, yet extremely intelligent. They excel in Engineering and their intelligence is slimly questioned… Though they can be a little crazy at times, one of their greatest inventions was the airplane…

**A/N: Any of you noticed that I didn't explain what a Naaru is? Yeah, sorry, I think I'll make up to it on the next chapter. Lots will be explained there, what a Paladin is, what's their purpose... and what the hell is Naruto going to do with that sword anyway? Oh well, I'm kinda ill so I won't be working that much... hope I'll get back on track soon enough**

**Oh well, the whole thing is bound to get even more interesting... I'll keep writing even if I don't get enough feedback... I love the tale of the Ashbringer and I'm kind of a sucker for Light/Darkness thingies... hehe  
**


	2. Chapter 2: Guidance

**A/N: Holy crap, I had a whole bunch of Story Alert warnings... and a small handful of reviews. I'm pleased, to say the least. So, don't hesitate to leave some feedback! **

**So, without further ado, for I have little else to say really, enjoy the next part of my little tale...**

(Disclaimer): I had forgotten to place one in the first chapter... oh well. As far as I know, Naruto is owned by Masashi Kishimoto... I'm not sure if he knows it though... Aaaaand of course, I don't own World of Warcraft... dude, these guys must make millions per month, if I owned the game, would I be here typing on the net? heh... (0.0 big disclaimer)

_**The Ashbringer: Shinobi of the Light**_

_**Chapter2: Guidance**_

Time seemed to pass slowly as the blond boy sat there in his seat, waiting for the 'voice' in his head to explain matters. Iruka was, as usual, giving a rather detailed lecture over teamwork… again. He couldn't quite catch why he mentioned that attribute of a Shinobi so much.

In the trance that he was, his mind feeling numb as it waited for what was to come, he failed to notice a certain dark-blue haired girl next to him…

XxxxX

'_He is still so young… saddened I am that such a burden, and honor, has to be bestowed on him…'_ yet again, the Paladin knew already of the mighty demon that resided in the boy. Thankfully, the monster was simply imprisoned, rather than in control. He would hate to have the blade in the hands of evil yet again… everyone would.

So much… so much pain… he could feel it… the Light could feel it. So much suffering… it was a troubled soul indeed. A troubled soul that held potential nonetheless. All he had to do…

Was open it. Open the door, the gate, for the boy to step through, in order to reach a brighter future.

Yet he wasn't sure. Should he allow this young soul into the mysteries of the Light? Should he bring him down this path? Little choice he had, really. The blade had already chosen its next wielder…

XxxxX

After one simple blink, the blond Shinobi-in-training strangely found himself in a somehow alternate universe. Where the classroom used to be a mere fraction of a second ago now lined endless tunnels, the walls a dull green with pipes running all the way down, the darkness devouring what he couldn't see.

'_**Come… there is much to discuss…'**_ the voice seemed to once more echo, as if it was everywhere. And suddenly, the dark corridors seemed to illuminate themselves as bright light washed over them, blinding the blond, if only for a second.

Strangely though, that second was enough for this whole shadowy place to change. Now, the boy found himself at the peak of an enormous mountain. He didn't dare look down from the edge, as an endless lush of a forest seemed to spread as far as the eye can see.

"Over here lad" he heard a raspy old voice speak from behind him. Jumping around, his eyes went wide at spotting an armor clad tall man. His dull grey eyes looked over the boy, a small smile on his face.

The figure walked towards him, stopping next to the young blond, both of them dangerously close to the edge of the high mountain. Said blond dared to turn around and gaze downwards, his balance faltering for a second as he couldn't even see the ground.

"Magnificent, is it not?" the man asked once more, his plate armor clinging as he peered forward to the sunset, it's beautiful colors washing down on the forest.

"W-Where are we?" the boy managed to say as curious blue eyes rested on the stranger's face. The man only smiled as he looked down to meet said boy's gaze.

"Why, in your mind of course." He said calmly. Of course, Naruto being who he is didn't actually grasp the meaning of these words.

"W…what do you mean, 'My mind'?" he asked, scratching his head. The man chuckled… here he was, going to try to explain things that even mature people couldn't grasp. And it wasn't only the mindscape…

"I have brought you here, inside your own mind, for I have an important matter to bring to your attention, boy" his smile was never waving, even though the short blond's curiosity only spiked even more.

"Uhh… in my own mind?" the boy still didn't seem to get it. The armored warrior only sighed. It would take quite the effort and patience to deal with this kid…

"Believe it or not, all humans have an inner world. Yours was a little too… depressing. I take you noticed the sewers before, did you not?" he asked calmly as the boy seemed to think it over. A nod was his reply.

"Well, I chose a somewhat more elaborate area for you my boy. This…:" he motioned with one hand, showing the blond the endless forest

"Is only a small part of my homeland" and it seemed so far away right now… so far away.

"And where is your homeland?" the boy asked curiously once more. The old man seemed lost in thought as he gazed forward in the never ending sunset…

"Somewhere far away right now lad, somewhere far away" he sighed…

"But let me introduce myself first" he turned to smile widely at the kid and by taking a step back, he bowed…

"Tirion Fordring, Paladin of the Silver Hand and leader of the Argent Crusade, wielder of the Ashbringer…"

XxxxX

"Naruto!" he heard his teacher's voice yell to him as he returned to the world. He questioningly looked at his sensei, he looking at the boy expectantly.

"I asked you a question, Naruto" Iruka seemed to glare for a moment. He didn't like it when his students zoned off the lesson. Especially Naruto. The boy would get killed someday if he kept doing this… plus he would never really learn anything if he kept at it.

'… _the Nidaime Hokage'_ he heard a feminine voice whispering…

"The Nidaime Hokage, Iruka-sensei!" the boy said with a wide grin. Iruka seemed to sigh with relief for a moment.

"Very good. For once you bothered to attend, didn't you?" he said with a grin of his own, marking something in his clip board. The blond only nodded as an answer before slouching back in his seat slowly, Iruka returning to a lecture about the second Hokage…

Wait… something was off. Who had told him the answer, anyway?

Titling his head to the left, he noticed a blue haired girl writing something down, her bangs covering her face as she seemingly struggled to vanish in her oversized jacket…

He contemplated for a moment on who she was. He had seen her around… oh right! It was that Hyuuga girl… she was quite weird, that was for sure. Yet again, what kind of Hyuuga are you if you aren't weird?

Letting it slide, he returned his thoughts to what Tirion had told him…

The Argent Crusade, Azeroth, the Lich King… all these foreign and strange names, all these circumstances the man had explained. How the Argent Crusade was a unison of all free men and women from any race who wanted to protect their world, Azeroth, from the grip of death that the Lich King was setting upon them.

How he, Tirion Fordring was in the leadership of said Crusade. How they had battled at the very doorstep of the lord of death, how he had fought against the Lich King and defeated him. The explosion that was created from the two mighty energies when they clashed had killed them both, Paladin and Lich King alike.

So, long story short, all that Tirion had let him know was that he was a leader of some kind of organization that fought against a strange King who wanted to destroy their world… weird.

And then, he had said that he was a Paladin. And when the boy asked what was such a… 'Paladin'…

'_Virtuous warriors of the Light, we bend this divine power as we call upon it, and it aids us in smiting evil and helping others. Paladins are protectors and warriors at the same time. We call upon the Light and it lends us the power to either heal wounds, or bring demise to our enemies. We are protectors of the weak, defenders of virtue and justice. But…' _

And Tirion had kept on talking on how Paladins where attuned to this… 'Light', what rules this brought along and what abilities it possessed.

'_The Light can bring both destruction and salvation. It can heal, it can illuminate, but it can also destroy, it can also burn'_

So the attributes of the Light where the two sides of the same coin. The blond was intrigued, to say the least.

'_But, be warned. The Light will not aid those that do not believe their cause to be righteous. It will not aid the ones that harbor evil.'_

If you believed in what you did then, the Light would be there to help…

But Tirion had also said something else. He had mentioned… _'Wielder of the Ashbringer' _

And what was, 'Ashbringer' anyway…?

XxxxX

"Beware lad. Should I tell you about this, there is no turning back." His voice was firm and serious, his old wise eyes gazing down upon the quite shorter boy. Said boy looked up at the old man…

Determination shone within him, through these sky blue eyes Tirion could see a fire ever burning. And for the sake of his and the whole world's…

He hoped it would never falter.

"The Ashbringer…" he extended one hand and brilliant Light covered it…

When it subsided, the little boy could only stare in amazement

It was that sword… the sword he had found this morning…

"This is the Ashbringer, a blade forged a time long ago. It is the embodiment of the Light on earth, a weapon of justice." He held the blade firmly before him, allowing the blond boy to take in every detail…

"I was its previous wielder, as I am… dead, for lack of a better term, right now." He smiled. He had at least died while watching the purpose of his life being fulfilled.

"And now, the blade will need another wielder, someone to become…" he held the sword down, his eyes narrowing as he stared into the curious blue ones in front of him

"The next Ashbringer…"

XxxxX

Naruto blinked, once more finding himself away from the mountains, away from the soothing sunset… and back into his classroom, everyone seeming busy while writing something.

Looking down at his desk, he realized that Iruka had probably passed a test before everyone. He cursed mentally as he hovered over the series of words that when put together could form questions… questions the blond most likely had to answer. Questions he sadly, didn't know how to answer.

He groaned silently as he picked up his pen, beginning to write down god only knows what…

XxxxX

'_So… you want me to be the next Ashbringer or something?' _he mentally asked, hoping Tirion could hear him… which was most likely since said man now resided in his head.

'_**It's not me who made the choice, but the blade itself. When you grasped it for the first time, it accepted you as its wielder.**__** But… you will hold no power or justification over the blade until I deem you ready, young one. Until I pass the sword over to you, the Ashbringer will lie in my hands. So I will train you down the path of the Light and swordsmanship… ' **__And I can only hope that what I'm doing is right…_

The blond, to say the least, was immediately excited at the mere mention of training, be it in anything. He would learn how to use a powerful power and kinjutsu! Sweet!

'_**Beware… the Light doesn't work on its own. You will need mana to properly use it, which in this world I think you call it… chakra?' **_

'_**When you are done from this place, head somewhere where no one will most likely bother you. We have a long way to go lad…' **_ and with that, Naruto could actually feel Tirion's presence subsiding, hiding away in the corners of his mind.

And suddenly, his mood felt so much more sour… yet now that he thought of it, Tirion was a 'Paladin', a user of the Light. So, the Light being what it is, was affecting his very mood in a way while Tirion was here.

Oh, he couldn't wait for his… 'training'

XxxxX

When the class finally ended, Naruto quickly picked his backpack up, intent to leave as soon as possible. In his haste he never noticed a certain girl that sat next to him the whole time stand up and leave quietly, a small blush on her cheeks…

Of course, he hadn't noticed her at all whatsoever, his mind focused solemnly on what cool training he would get in order to use the Light.

"Naruto…" he heard his teacher's solemn voice. Iruka usually used this voice when it was time for yet another scold…

He groaned inwardly as he turned around, meeting his teacher's serious expression with a wide grin of his own.

"What's up, Iruka-sensei?" he asked happily, standing up and slumping his backpack on his shoulders.

Said man only sighed… "Naruto, you seemed far too distant today. Something's bothering you?" his tone was sincere. Naruto never was one to really pay attention to class, but Iruka had noticed that today, the blond neither had made any loud remarks over to the Uchiha, neither had he asked Sakura on a date… and was too damn quiet whatsoever.

"It's nothing Iruka-sensei. I've been just thinking what flavors of ramen to eat today for lunch!" he said happily. Iruka decided to believe this… who else would think about ramen all day long, anyway?

"Very well. But if something's bothering you, really, you can talk to me, Naruto" he said with a smile. The boy grinned back as he hugged his teacher and left in a hurry, his grin never faltering…

XxxxX

Once he reached his apartment, he let his backpack fall on the ground and plopped himself on the couch, sighing in relief that he was in a place he could at least consider 'safe', away from the glares of hatred and scorn, away from the pain…

'_**Now, now, no need for such thoughts. We have work to do my boy. Much, work to do…'**_

Naruto blinked once… and his whole world changed.

XxxxX

"Here again?" he asked with a pout as he sat cross legged on the generously green grass, arms crossed before his chest.

"Would you prefer the sewers?" Tirion asked with a small smile, seeing the blond nod after a few seconds of thought.

"Very well. First of all, I'll let you know something, important. Here, in your mindscape, time passes differently. Faster or slower than normal, that's up to you. Second: Whatever training you get here will only be mental. That means, you will still have to train your body outside of here." He took a breath and waited for a moment, allowing the boy to sink the information in.

"So, all you'll have to do is train like a normal… 'ninja' outside this place. Here though, you will learn many other things…" with yet another flash of light, a book formed in Tirion's hand…

"What's that?" the blond asked curiously, not able to contain the question in his mind for more than a second from after it popped out.

The Paladin sighed… hopefully, the boy would at least get more intelligent too through their training together… and would learn to keep his mouth shut, avoiding pointless questions such as this.

"A book written from a fellow Paladin it is. It contains nearly everything you'll need to know about the Light."

The blond boy finally took in the size of the book… no, the tome. This thing was huge!

Tirion handed the tome to the blond, who grimaced at the weight of it. "Even in here, we will keep objects to their normal weight, so that your mind won't disorient the mental world from the real one." He wasn't sure if this made any sense to the young boy… oh well, he could always hope.

Said blond only nodded as he flipped the first page open…

He muttered the title of the tome quietly to himself,

"The Light and how to swing it… by Uther"

XxxxX

To say, some people could easily take what she was doing right now as… stalking? Well, said girl preferred to see her shadowy involvement as more of a 'Watching-over'. Indeed, that sounded more right in her young mind.

And through all these years of… observation, this stealthy appendage had learned much about her target, the object of her affections, her classmate.

One thing she knew for sure was this: The boy _never _zoned out in school and he certainly and absolutely _not _missed to ask Sakura on a date at least ten times. His record counted on around fifty, when the pink haired girl was in a good mood and put up with his attitude for that long…

Needless to say, the end was the same as always. The offender of her privacy and 'quality' time with a certain Uchiha could always be seen flying somewhere in the sky at pinpoint accuracy when it came to time.

Examples: During lunch time, one could easily spot an orange dressed boy talking cheerfully to another girl of his age with marvelously pink hair, which some people questioned if it was her natural color.

At 11:32 exactly, at least one of the windows of the academy would be broken in order to allow passage to the yet once again flying blond. Of course, there where times when the young kunoichi in training was in a good mood and endured the blond's pestering for longer, maybe because the Uchiha had accidentally let a glance befall on her? Most likely

Anyway, usually during the end of the day, the blond troublemaker would usually not walk home. Instead he would 'fly' there, from yet another impossibly strong punch from the pink haired girl, who would later on turn around and notice that because her attention was turned to the blond, her favorite Uchiha had gone off, leaving her alone yet again. Funny it may seem that this scene happened nearly every single day, a few exceptions made here and there when the ramen-lover wasn't in the mood to fly and preferred to walk.

Of course, when said Uchiha-loving girl realized what had occurred, promises of pain would soon follow.

And, of course, everyone knew that tomorrow they would come true. She would see to that, personally.

But back to the favorite to some person that actually had gained all these information through her… observing. It would be foolish to say that she wasn't worried.

For today none of the above occurrences had… occurred.

So here she was, bloodline flaring as she peered inside the house of the blonde boy. Surprised she was as she found said blond lying on the couch, staring off into… nothing.

Okay… something was wrong with him… that much she was sure of.

Little did she know, of course, that nothing could be more right for the blond right now…

Uzumaki Naruto was starting down a path that could alter whole lives…

And she was there to see the beginning…

Yet she asked herself if she would even hope to be there till the end…

XxxxX

Tirion was usually a calm man, a man who knew how to control his anger and himself. The Light knew how to teach patience and understanding to all of its pupils, to all of those who became its students.

And now said Paladin was more than happy that his patience was one of his best attributes. Regardless of said patience though, in spite of his cool temper, the blond boy surely was one of the best in nerve-wrecking. Maybe he didn't need the Light at all… he could easily kill an opponent's brain with all these pointless questions and constant nagging from hell…

"Hey, if I concentrate the Light in me, will I be lighter?" was one of the countless phrases that left his mouth…

He also regretted telling him about the races of Azeroth… especially the Tauren, mighty beast like men exceptional in the arts of nature… but… well, their… beastly appearance was… unique, to say the least.

"Would a Tauren Paladin be a holy cow?" was yet another question…

Tirion put a gloved palm on his face, trying to shut off the annoying buzzing sound of the kid's voice. No good… having his eye sight closed only intensified his hearing… which led to more buzzing

"Kid…" he said, his voice amazingly cool… hell, even he was surprised!

"Kid" he repeated, yet Naruto seemed to pay him no attention as he kept reading through the giant book and talking seemingly to himself, questions pointed here and there at his newfound tutor.

"Naruto!!" he yelled and said blond nearly fell from the edge of the cliff from his surprise. Yep, he had found it appealing to sit right at the edge…

"Yeah, sensei?" the boy asked with a wide grin as he turned to the gray haired man, said champion of divinity sighing as he sat down next to the blond.

"Naruto, you must understand something" his tone was serious, his eyes soft as he gazed in the never ending sunset…

Said blonde only curiously waited what was to come…

"The first thing that the Light will ever teach you, is patience" his tone still was serious yet serene, as if his body was there, tutoring the boy while his soul traveled beyond the vast trees…

"For patience you will need to learn and understand its teachings" he finished, his wise eyes now gazing upon the little one.

"Think you can do that?" his lips broke in a smile

The blond thought for a moment, before looking at his new sensei again, that determination shining yet again…

"Hai, sensei"

"Good…"

The warrior of the Light ruffled the blonde's already wild hair with his armored hand, sitting up as he turned to head in the small oasis that had suddenly appeared where an endless plain once was, occupying the otherwise empty space of the top of the mountain they where.

"Oh, and Naruto" he didn't turn around, a small grin finding its place on his face…

"Hai, sensei?" curious the boy was…

"Keep your mouth shut, will you?" his tone was teasing, a small chuckle escaping him as his grin widened.

The blond of course only face faulted as he turned around, focusing on the book once more, muttering things to himself…

'_**Patience, lesson one: Learn to keep your thoughts to yourself, especially the foolish ones'**_ he heard Tirion's voice and frantically looked around, said man nowhere to be seen. He sighed, realizing that the Paladin was mentally communicating again…

He just turned to the book once more, this time his lips closed as sky blue eyes surveyed every word…

Somewhere in the small forest atop the mountain, the current Ashbringer smiled to himself. The boy already seemed to have a small illumination… last time he mentally talked to him in the mindscape, the boy only hadn't jumped off the cliff looking for him…

XxxxX

She couldn't help herself, her hand was already finding its way upon the doorknob. She hesitated, inches away as the limp was. What was she doing really? Who was she to even dare step through his doorstep…? Who was she to deserve it…?

A nobody… a nothing… a weakling… all these and much more… her family knew well of how to remind her of this each and every damn day of her life…

She turned around, leaving the block of flats, leaving him behind…

For she just didn't deserve this… or anything else for that matter

XxxxX

"Ramen!!" an excited blond yelled as he got up from his couch, stomach grumbling noisily at the mare mention of the noodles filled soup.

Five minutes later, the whole apartment was filled with the slurping sound of a certain blond gulping down a vast amount of instant-euphoria, a.k.a. ramen…

Somewhere within his mind, a certain Paladin sighed… he really had a long way to go with this kid… a freaking too long way to go…

XxxxX

Later that night, as the blond shinobi-in-training lie in his bed, waiting for sleep to grasp his senses, he couldn't help but feel that something was off…

He closed his eyes… and when he opened them again, he met that familiar sunset accompanied by a similarly familiar mountain… forest accompanying and all.

With a groan, he looked around for his self-proclaimed sensei. He was going to sleep damn it!

"Believe me kid, if you want to even come near to becoming a Paladin, you will need every minute of training you can get…" he turned around, Tirion standing next to him as if he had materialized out of nowhere… again.

"What do you mean old man? I trained after the academy! I read all this stuff about the Light and how to call upon it and…" a gloved hand held up by Tirion silenced the boy, the man's own gray eyes closed in concentration…

"Listen, my boy. You will not learn how to use the Light from one day to another. You will not suddenly earn power supreme to all others. A strong foundation has to be placed before you can build a fortress." The blond seemed to get it, at least partially.

"Thankfully, your faith is quite strong, Naruto" he smiled as cerulean eyes seemed to lighten up.

"The whole village hates you yet you have faith that they will one day see who you really are… all you have to do now…" he closed his eyes again, trying to find the appropriate words for a ten year old to understand.

"Is to use this faith in the Light as well." He was sure the boy didn't get this one…

A clever 'huh?' of an answer was his reply…

"Listen, Naruto. How would you explain the word, Faith?" he bent down, bringing his eyes to the blonde's level.

After a minute or so of thinking, said blond finally seem to come up with an answer "Well… Faith is when you believe in something or someone, right?" the Paladin nodded, satisfied with the answer. He could have hoped for a little more elaboration, but what could he possible expect from a ten year old?

Biologically, a human's very nervous system isn't matured enough at such an age to allow cleverer thinking. There where of course, exceptions, like his son… Taelan…

He shook his head. It wasn't time for this now…

"Quite right my boy. More accurately, Faith is when you indeed believe in something or someone, but Faith is also when you believe, while you already know that what you believe in might not happen as well, yet you hope, you have _faith_ that it will happen. It's the manifestation of a lesser form of devotion, if you like" he picked his vocabulary carefully, the nods the blond gave an encouragement that he at least didn't speak nonsense on the blonde's perspective.

"Putting your faith in the Light is like… well, like a religion. We believe in it, we believe in the Light… and in return, it believes in us" he let some of the holy power surge in his hand, illuminating his left palm with a golden glow…

"The Light exists within us all… in every good deed we do, lesser or major. But as the Light exists, so does the Darkness…"

His other palm glowed too, an ethereal miniature of the Ashbringer hovering over his palm. Bringing his left palm next to his right, another copy of the sword appeared as well…

"It is believed that the Ashbringer was created by the crystallized essence of a Naaru, because…"

The Ashbringer in his right hand started changing, the blade becoming slightly bigger, the gleaming steel dulling till it reached a deathly golden color, glowing green runes running near the edges as the golden orb changed in a narrow skull clad in green flames that hovered in a similar way the orb did. The colors of the hilt also seemed to change, becoming duller, the bright red turning crimson, the cheery yellow dying down…

"This…" he raised his right palm a little

"Is the Corrupted Ashbringer, the dark side of the blade" he felt sad that such a manifestation of purity could reach so deep in the abyss…

"The Naaru's are mystical beings of the Light, who can also revert to the Darkness if they are corrupted by foul deeds or magic powers. This is why the blade was believed to be forged from such an essence…" memories started flooding his mind…

"Alexandros Mograine, the very first wielder of the Ashbringer was murdered by one of his own son's… with his own blade" The Light rest his soul, Alexandros was a good man…

The in front of him seemed intrigued though…

"What happened?" he asked slowly, indicating that he actually thought before asking. Tirion smiled to himself…

The images of the Ashbringers faded as Tirion closed the gap between his palms, the joined gloves a platform for what he was about to show…

"The Ashbringer was firstly named like this for it had the unique ability in it's Pure Form to turn any undead or demon to simple ashes…" images of a red haired man in blue armor with a blazing Ashbringer in hand cutting through undead like butter flowed smoothly in Tirion's hands.

"Alexandors Mograine was the first Ashbringer, as I've told you, and a legend in my lands. He was the bane of the undead in Azeroth, the Scourge of the Scourge. No undead army could stand before him…" images flowed once again, this time the red haired man fighting off whole hordes of the forces of evil while riding a white steed clad in blue armor, his blade shining as the mindless minions rushed at him…

"His older son though, Reno Mograine, was a greedy man…" Tirion would chuckle to himself would this tale not be one of sadness, one of deception, of betrayal. The blond boy seemed to enjoy it though. He guessed he didn't have a grandfather telling him stories before bed whatsoever…

The images changed as another red head appeared, similar features to the first one, though this man was clad in red armor…

He guessed that adding some sound effects would make it… more enjoyable, at least on the blonde's part. Boy's these days… so easily fascinated.

"Reno wanted his father's power, wanted to be on top. So he tricked his father, tricked him in the worst way possible…"

Two men now seemed to ride on their horses, running like hell as they headed towards an up and down torn village, the land around them corrupted and foul, the trees dead or sick. Nothing of an admirable scene indeed…

They seemed to reach some kind of destroyed city, fires still burning the sky…

"_Undead! Their coming from the gates!" _said the red head…

"_And from the left... and right… they're flanking us! It's a trap!"_ yelled the other rider, bald as he was with black hair decorating the sides of his head and a pointy black beard gracing his chin…

"_They're everywhere…"_ Alexandros gripped his blade…

"_Treachery! But who…?"_ his companion asked himself…

"_It is no time to ask! Now we fight…"_ the undead armies swarmed over them…

"_Or we die!"_

"Thousand upon thousands they came, yet Alexandros stood firm, blade in hand…" Tirion's expression seem to grow sad as the two men battled against the endless swarms of undead, their countless numbers thinning quickly as the Ashbringer cut through them as if they where nothing.

"_Arghh!"_

"_Fairbanks!"_ the warrior yelled as his companion fell, the undead swarming over him…

"_Curse you foul monsters! Tell your master that a thousand of his underlings are not enough! And when I'm done with you, I'll face a thousand more!"_ he yelled as he kept swinging the Ashbringer, any undead that it touched turning into ashes…

"Alexandros fought against exhaustion for countless hours as the undead seemed to have no end. It was indeed one of his greatest battles against death itself… one man that stood against the armies of the Scourge all on his own…" the images that danced in Tirion's hands kept moving, Alexandros not stopping even for a moment as he struggled to survive…

The Paladin called upon the Light with all the remaining power that he had, purging the Abomination that had gripped him, defeating the last of a seemingly endless army. These monstrosities were bunches of corpses stitched together, a gruesome sight to behold…

Alexandros fell to his knees…

"_It is over…"_

And suddenly, he looked down, the Ashbringer running through his chest…

"_Who…?"_ he slowly turned around, a shadowy figure manifesting itself behind the mortally wounded Paladin…

And Tirion clapped his hands, the images and sounds fading as Naruto jumped from the sudden change, so entranced as he was in the small 'movie'.

"Uh, sensei, what happened next?" Tirion was more than glad to hear the question coming from the boy, not because of what it was, but how it was posed. Instead of rushing in to ask something, Naruto instead seemed to bid at least a few seconds before expressing his hidden frustration…

What? It was a cool story!

"That, you will learn tomorrow my boy" he said with a smile, earning a pout from the young blond. He reached out to ruffle the boy's head…

"Now, it is time for training." But as he sat up, he didn't miss the fact that the blond was still sitting cross legged on the ground, thoughtful as he seemed…

"But sensei, if the Ashbringer is a weapon specialized in destroying undead, what is the point of me wielding it?" The boy slowly sat up…

"I mean, there weren't any zombie armies running rampart around the Elemental Countries last time I checked" there was a bit of mockery in the blonde's words, but Tirion was sure it was well-meant…

He sighed, placing one hand on the blonde's head yet again

"And for the sake of us all my boy…"

"Let us hope they never will…"

XxxxX

The beast growled silently behind its cage, one crimson eye quirking slightly open as he peered forward, gazing down upon two lesser forms of life…

"**Again…?" **he asked himself with a grunt as he opened both eyes half way to 'greet' the newcomers…

"Why, hello there" said an old voice. The beast focused, only to see the Paladin from before smiling at him…

What insolence…

"S-sensei… what is this?" Naruto could easily tell it was Kyuubi no Yoko, the infamous tailed beast that had nearly leveled Konoha ten years ago, at the day of his berth…

Wait… at the day of his berth?

The demon started chuckling as he looked down at the far smaller boy…

"**I meet my container, at last. No confetti and colored lights? I would expect more from such a troublesome boy…" **Living an entire 'human' lifetime in a muddy cold cage wasn't and the most exciting thing… plus, watching the blonde's life unravel was like free Blue-ray DvD special edition… whatever that was, anyway.

"I thought that the sooner you knew about this, the better it would be for everyone, Naruto" Tirion said, his smile fading as seriousness gripped his features

"You know who this demon is, right?" the blond only nodded in response, eyes wide and mouth hanging open at the mere size of the damn fox…

"Very well" he turned to said beast once more, reaching the bars yet again. Stretching a hand, he called upon the Light as his hands shone…

Yet nothing happened as the Light was shot away, unable to pass behind the bars…

Tirion was amazed, to say the least… what was going on?

He jumped away as a claw threatened to crush him in a bloody pulp, said natural weapon retracting back in the darkness…

"**Fool… none can get through this seal…****"** there was something more to it, but the demon knew better than to allow such knowledge over an enemy…

Tirion approached once more, this time careful to avoid the openings the bars allowed. Reaching the middle column, he placed a gloved hand over it, closing his eyes as he concentrated…

"These runes… magnificent work… nothing can get inside the cage, nor can it be broken. Yet it allows influence…" his eyes narrowed

"From both sides…?"

"**Correct…"** and red energy shot out from the cage, a cloud of blazing mist… but it headed not for the Paladin…

Instead, it aimed at the young blond…

Tirion sprang to action as he jumped away, the Ashbringer suddenly in his hand as the light faded away…

With a single thrust of the mighty blade, he cut the red cloud in half, disconnecting it, the power missing to reach Naruto for less than a mere meter…

The demon only chuckled from within his cage…

"**You won't be always here to protect him, Paladin…" **his blazing crimson eyes started fading in the darkness as it retreated within its cage…

"**One day…"** the voice echoed as the beast disappeared from view…

Tirion only sighed, the Ashbringer disappearing with another flash of light. The sewers once more changed around them as the Paladin brought them back to the mountains and the warm sunset…

"So… what did you learn today Naruto?" he asked as he sat down, smiling at the boy. Said boy only copied his movements as he sat down himself, eyes gazing up in the colorful sky…

"Well… greed for power only brings destruction…" Reno Mograine was proof of that, for proving to himself that he had power and in order to gain it, he had somehow trapped and killed his own father…

"The Light is especially powerful against evil…" if the fact that Alexandros could fend off whole armies of monstrosities… and that Tirion had cut in half a cloud of power that literally _reeked _of evil, of taint, were any indicators…

"Aaand… I have a powerful demon in my belly!" he finished with a wide grin. His expression saddened a little though, seeing the Paladin not respond in a similar way. Instead… he was frowning…

"Listen my boy. You have any idea what that cloud was?" it was clear as day that he was referring to the cloud of power the Kyuubi had leaked out of the cage

The blond only shook his head. He imagined it could kill him or something like that…

"So listen now and listen well. The demon you hold within" he said "has the ability to temporarily transfer parts of his powers to you, enhancing your strength and other attributes while active in your system" the seal that held the demon back… it was so complicated yet so simple… a marvelous work of art indeed. He only wished he could meet the creator… that barrier that held a mighty demon back could work wonders if the wizards of Dalaran or his own knights got their hands on it back in Azeroth…

"But beware, the Light will not serve evil. It has never done it and never will"

What did he mean by that…?

"Huh?" came the clever question

How was he going to explain this to a ten year old, really?

"I just want you to never use the Kyuubi's powers, alright Naruto? Not as long as you will be a Paladin, at least" he gave the boy a smile, allowing him to grin widely in response

"Ok… but why?" his curiosity was expected…

"This, will be explained some other time" he answered as he sat up, letting a hand to the blond to help him up as well

Naruto was amazed with what ease the warrior had lifted him…

"Now… we have much work to do before sunrise, have we not?" Naruto was excited at the mere thought of more training, to say the least…

"Then let us get going…"

XxxxX

**A/N: So, this chapter was focused on a little... history. The title is Guidance, what did you expect? ^^ The first part of the story will be focused more on Naruto... but that might as well change. My mind is a little crazy... ask my friends, they should know.... =P**

_**I would be glad to answer any questions you might have. All you have to do... well is review and ask! Plus don't miss to comment on something... I like it when people comment, they actually put their brain to use 0.0 oh well, no offense... I don't put my mind on use all the time... or maybe not. Won't tell.  
**_


	3. Chapter 3: Strength

_(Disclaimer: Me No Owns Naruto/Warcraft! Me no type this again mon, me be hatin' disclaimers... now where be my mojo?)_

**A/N: Life doesn't go easy on me, so it's no surprise that I don't update frequently... so many stories to write, so many chapters to write, so many things to do! I just hope that one day I'll be done... and look back and be proud of it. Hope this chapter will fall well within your liking. I'm kind of lazy when it comes to writing... I hope I can keep up with this story and finally write a chapter for Towards The Heaven. Assassin's Creed will remain on standby till then, I'm frankly more interest in The Ashbringer and TTH right now ^^ Oh, and I'd like to beg your pardon from the start, for if there are any mistakes in the text, that is ^^ I don't have a Beta, neither the willpower to check it all over... again! English is my second language, so it's tolerable to make a mistake or two, right? =)  
**

**_In the Light we march..._  
**

_**The Ashbringer: Shinobi of the Light**_

_**Chapter3: Strength**_

So what if people thought that he was nothing? So what that people believed he deserved no more than trash? That he was lower than the lower citizen of an economically ruined country? He knew he could make them see… he knew that one day he could have them all to his knees, begging for forgiveness and seeking redemption while he laughed in their faces and denied them everything.

Well, ok, it wouldn't be exactly like that… but he could satisfy his sadistic side a little, at least in the imaginary way, would he not?

Of course, preservation of sanity was crucial… especially when you hold a mighty demon within you. Imagine if he went rampart on them… it would forever ruin everything he stood for, everything he denied to himself and others that he was.

For he was not the demon…

He was Naruto Uzumaki.

And one day, one fateful day, his life might decide to take a better turn.

Wouldn't it…?

XxxxX

"Naruto, could you please inform us of the difference between the kunai that were used in the first Great War, and the ones that we use today?" Iruka asked as he eyed his student upside down, evident bullets of sweat beginning to take form on said student's forehead.

"Umm… umm…" the boy was clearly at a loss of words

Tirion wished he could help… but he held slim to no knowledge over this world, let alone their history on weaponry…

"The kunai we use today are… lighter?" he asked-answered as he rubbed the back of his head, a sheepish smile over his facial features are silence filled the air, Shikamaru letting out a snore here and there.

"Well, that's one difference, thank you Naruto. Fuzu! You're next" his brown eyes fell on a student sitting a few rows forward, said boy smiling a sheepish smile as well as he sneaked a peak downwards, searching for the answer in one of his notes…

Naruto sighed as he slumped back on his chair. You could say that he was used to answering wrong, saying something stupid and such all the time, but it just never got easier. That sad look on Iruka's face… it was there only for a moment, before masked anger took over…

It just never got easier.

And he was glad that at least today, he managed to say something right.

He looked to his left, grinning widely at the girl next to him, she noticing nothing as her eyes where glued to the onyx-haired boy next to her, hands writing down notes on their own…

How the hell did she do that? Well, maybe it was a fan-girl attribute… they needed a way to pay attention to class too, rather than the Uchiha alone, did they not?

Most likely… less Iruka banned them from class for 'over-fanning' the Uchiha. Hell, did his teacher have a fan-girl meter or something hidden in his desk?

He sighed as his endless pokes on her side went unnoticed by the pink-haired girl. He wasn't sure if she ignored him on purpose, or if she was so entranced with Sasuke that the world just seemed something trivial…

And what did the Uchiha have to say about all of these?

Well, if silence could talk, then Sasuke would really be a very social person…

The only times you could hear the boy speak, was when he was forced to, when he had to, and when he wanted to mock Naruto…

"_**I still fail to understand how you can hold affections for this girl… Naruto."**_ He heard Tirion speaking in his mind. He wanted to once more yell to the Paladin to shut up, keep his words and mouth away from his Sakura-chan… But would Tirion hear? No, that was too much to ask. The warrior would occasionally berate him for his affections towards the Haruno…

And sometimes, damn him to hell but he had to admit it, sometimes he doubted himself too.

Tirion sighed within the blonde's mind. He could understand the boy at some point… he did not know what 'love' was like, in any kind of way, so it was as if he blindly looked into the darkness for a shed of light that simply wasn't there…

In the few days that he had lived here in the boy's mind, he had bid his time to look over the blonde's past, look over what had happened, look over what life was like for the little hero-to-be.

And what he had seen, had, for lack of a better term, disgusted him to no end. It was as if he saw a replica of the Scarlet Crusade…

Blind fanaticism and foolish belief in a cause that was everything but righteous… that was what the villagers here where like… hell, give them a red tabard and there you go! The Scarlet Crusade reborn…

They believed in what they saw, or rather thought they saw, not in what lied within. They would purge what was different, what angered them, thinking it would make the pain go away…

But no, nothing can make the pain go away. Nothing can make loss go away…

Taelan… he hoped one day he could be forgiven… he hoped that what he was doing here on this world would grand him redemption…

He had to admit though, the blond was progressing really fast. The boy could now even manage to hold the sword straight for more than a minute… his intense physical training could be part of that, plus the slim experience that he had gained in the few days of training surely helped.

But that was all Naruto did till now. The Ashbringer was a heavy weapon, he was amazed the boy could even hold it! With the passing of time and more training, Naruto could wield a sword in no time.

For still they had much to do, before the boy could even hope to wield the legendary blade in combat…

Through the boy's eyes, he noticed Iruka pacing away from them, scolding another student that came by the name… Kiba? Well, the red streaks under his eyes and the puppy he carried around made the particular ninja-in-training rather unique within his class.

Good… they had some time before Iruka came by them again.

XxxxX

Naruto groaned as he sat up, that sunset yet again in his eyes, though this time, he took notice that what seemed to block the orange light was an armor clad warrior…

"Ugh, Tirion-sensei, I'm in the academy right now!" he complained, tiredness taking over him all as he slumped down. The mere thought of training with Tirion was exhausting… at least mentally.

"I'm aware of that child, thank you" the man said with a smile as he patted the boy on the head.

"Listen, I have a task for you when the academy is over Naruto" his look turned serious…

The boy only questioningly looked at him…

"When you're done, I want you to head over to the library of your village." The look on Naruto's face was enough for Tirion to understand… uncertainty with a tint of fear…

"But… they never let me in…" his voice was something above a whisper, as he spoke to himself. Tirion shook his head…

"No time to be pessimistic, child. Entering the library is fundamental for your training, and part of it at the same time. You must get in the library Naruto. That…" he grinned inwardly…

"Is a mission"

His words seemed to gain an effect as the boy perked up, sky-blue eyes gleaming all over

"A mission? A mission?!" he didn't know what held him from jumping on the man for a big hug…

"A mission indeed. Further details will be given when you enter the targeted building. Dismissed" he grinned as the boy gave a military salute, a 'Yes sir!' and vanished from sight in a whirl of leafs… yep, for some reason Naruto liked to do that in here…

XxxxX

Everyone would wonder why the blond of the class, had that far-away and sour look on his features being replaced with one that seemingly gleamed of happiness and energy… everyone would wonder, if they had paid any attention, of course.

But the girl who had paid said attention had noticed… she had also noticed that the boy had plenty of such 'mood' swings everyday, even though she felt sad within that he didn't sit next to her again, yet kept chasing over the seat next to the pink-haired…

Sometimes, in the corners of her mind, the part of her that was actually female, the woman within, wondered a very popular question…

'_What the hell does she have that I don't?'_

She could answer that question pretty easily afterwards…

Sakura was pretty, clever, nice to be around (if you weren't Naruto of course…) and generally, she was what a boy would look for in a girl. What Naruto would look for in a girl…

Would he look at her the same way, if she was like Sakura? No… she wanted to be herself, she wanted to be who she was, even if her very family thought it was pathetic. But she couldn't help it… she wanted to change herself… and one day she would do it. She wouldn't be like Sakura… no…

She would be ten times better.

Okay, from where did all these thoughts come from anyway?

Well, she wouldn't let it slide now that she had it! And to prove it to herself, above all else, today she would do something that she thought impossible to manage for all these years…

XxxxX

Tirion was no fool. He certainly wasn't. That's why he had understood from quite early what was the problem with Naruto's ability to call upon the Light…

No, the boy did not lack faith. That was his least problem. What he lacked, was Mana.

Or to be more exact, the 'right' form of Mana, the form that Tirion had learned how to use.

While Mana in his world was the mental power one held, something that increased not through physical training, but with how much one trained his mind, the Chakra that people had here was… kind of different.

He had noticed from the start that this chakra was more dense, less fluid that the mystical essence of mana. That's why humans here tended to use these, 'hand seals', in order to make the chakra more fluid and accessible, to 'mold' it in order to perform a technique, or 'spell' in his world's words.

He should have seen that coming… it was a different world, humanity had grown in a different way here, so he had to even thank the Light that their only difference was in their essence of power.

Yet again, Chakra was different that Mana in more ways that one.

While Mana was fueled by ones mental ability, Chakra was more relied on one's physical endurance.

And when one used lots of Chakra, he grew exhausted. When one used lots of mana though, he merely would have a small headache afterwards… maybe from the constant chanting? Indeed, remembering the right words for each spell, especially when you are a mage… is quite a task on and in itself.

So, Chakra seemed to be a lesser form of their very life force, which they used in combat and in other small tricks.

That's why he needed the library… he needed knowledge. Knowledge that the boy, unfortunately, held not…

XxxxX

And so on and on, people could say that life was full of thrilling adventures, people could talk about deeds of the past, fits of strength and countless other things that he held slim to no interest over.

In a few words, Shikamaru was bored as hell…

But now, what's the point in referring to his boredom? It was nothing but a form of human exasperation over having nothing to do at all, and Iruka looming over your head only adding to it.

That's why he kept an open eye to keep watch whenever he felt like it. Sometimes, it could prove funny, and resourceful to check over his classmates. What? One day he would be teamed up with them and his life would be on their hands… he was just careful.

Now, he also was aware of the fact that Chouji and that blond Sasuke-lover belonged to the renown families of Akamichi and Yamanaka respectively, which also meant that they where most likely going to be teamed up… their fathers would make sure of that, sadly. Not that he minded his best friend's company. No, not at all. But he held no love for troublesome women… and Ino could be _very_ troublesome at times.

But what had sparked his interest in the later days of endless academic hours drawn in boredom, was the fact that one of his classmates tended to behave… awkward.

People always told him he was smart, but wasted it because of his laziness. He would believe them, if he had proof over it of course. Maybe he would take an IQ test or something somewhere in the future?

Regardless of his intelligence, there were times like this that he believed them. For right now, a certain blond within the class was doing something awkward as hell… and he was surprised, amazed even, that no one else seemed to have noticed, or care at least.

For Naruto was quiet. Awfully quiet… he was just zoning out into nothing…

Well, maybe he had his own thoughts, maybe he had found out that he actually had a brain and now was trying to make it useful… well, good for him. Shikamaru could only wait in the side scenes till something happened…

For once, yes for once, he really wished something troublesome like a ninja attack or anything like that could happen right now.

For if the enemy ninjas didn't kill him, Iruka's lectures, which seemed to bolster his boredom ten fold…

Sure would.

XxxxX

"Principles"

"You shall not kill, less forced your hand is, to protect or purge evil."

"Continue…"

"Your cause you must believe that is just, for the Light to join your side."

"Yes. And…?"

"The Light is not affected by the choices of men. Less it deems you unworthy, forever it shall guide you."

"Well done, Naruto. These are only the basic principles of the Light. Unfortunately, as an old, 'friend' of mine had once mentioned, its virtues can be a drawback, when you face a merciless opponent. For ruthless murderers hold no honor to bind them, Naruto…" sadness seemed to overtake his features for a moment, as he reminisced all the good men who had fallen to protect Azeroth…

"But, the virtues and rules of the Light is what divides us from them. It's what makes the difference between you…" a gloved finger pointed to the boy's heart…

"And a monster"

Naruto seemed awed for a moment, before his expression saddened, remembering the lore of his tenant…

"There is a difference between holding a monster and actually being one, Naruto" the old man smiled, trying to encourage the young blond, as much as he could at least.

Said blond seemed to perk up as he smiled sadly up to him. Naruto only hoped that there could be more people like Tirion… more people that could understand.

"Though, I have to ask a favor of you, child" Tirion's expression turned serious, so serious that Naruto felt a tint of fear taking over him. When the man was like this, the boy just felt that he was _obliged _or even _forced _to listen. Tirion was a man that deserved his respect… listening to him when he had to was the least he could do to repay him.

"I don't want you, ever and in any circumstance, to use the demon's power… am I clear?" his expression turned a little worried, but other than that, it didn't change.

Naruto nodded, even thought he couldn't quite understand why…

So what's the best way to find out something when you don't know about it?

"Why?"

Ask, of course.

The Paladin sighed as he closed his eyes for a moment, concentrating his thoughts…

"The demon's… chakra, is tainted. It may make you more powerful or enhance your healing ability, but it is also tainted. And the Light will not help you child, if you use powers of evil. I'm not sure what could happen if you called upon the Light while using the demon's power. The chances are from it corrupting you to making your powers turn over to the darkness. In a few words… I don't know what will happen, but it certainly won't be good"

The boy only nodded in response as a sad smile seemed to take over once more, he looking down to the tall grass under his feet, bathed in the orange light of the sunset as it was…

"Well… I'll do my best, sensei" he looked up to the warrior with a wide grin, the old man smiling in response.

"Good. And now, let us have some other kind of training…" he slowly sat down cross-legged as a book formed in his hand…

The blond looked questioningly at him before sitting down himself…

"What is it, sensei?"

Tirion held the book up, smiling widely at the blond.

"I'm going to teach you my language… my native language." They could communicate in here, for Tirion could mentally translate his words into the language of the child, these… Japanese, as people called them. But, if he ever hoped for Naruto to learn how to properly call upon the Light, to chant and prey, the boy had to learn Common…

Plus, it could prove quite helpful, to know a language no one else did. And if his plans for the future went well, teaching Naruto Common could prove far more useful than simply casting a spell…

XxxxX

"So, how am I supposed to get in anyway?" a blond told himself as he walked outside the library after being… well, kicked out, for lack of a better term. And what surprised him most was that…

He didn't feel anything. It didn't feel that bad… it didn't feel that much painful… maybe he was starting to get used to it, maybe it didn't matter anymore…

Or maybe he had learned to mask his pain too well from everyone, even himself…

"_**There must be another way, young one… tell me, about this… transformation spell your people use…" **_Tirion asked, and Naruto, to his amuzement, could clearly see a picture of the man rubbing his chin thoughtfully with his mind's eye. Be it his imagination, or a trick the Paladin had found, he knew not…

"Henge…? I was never good with henge… my chakra control sucks so much, that I wonder how I can even mold it…" his small self-degrading rant was something he usually did to himself, though the next thing that could usually happen was him jumping up and yelling out loud that his problem was trivial, and that one day he would be the Hokage.

Strangely enough, and to a certain indigo-haired girl's horror, that did not happen today…

"_**Hmm… can't your teacher help you with this?" **_Of course, Tirion was clearly referring to Iruka. No other teacher would bother to help the boy anyway…

"Iruka-sensei doesn't have that much time to spare for me alone…" the blond sighed as he sat down, finally realizing he had reached a park in his slow stroll away from the library. He could do a henge, it was the simplest ninja illusion, but his control was so bad that even a fresh genin would see through it… and it wouldn't be because of a malformed nose…

The warrior understood pretty well. Of course, a man like Iruka would have a lot in his hands, having to teach whole hordes of children. It wasn't like this on Azeroth… the families themselves trained their children in the arts of combat in their early age and later on, if the child wished so and if it was of age, it was its own decision to choose its path.

He briefly wondered just how a Gnome kid would be like in matters of size…

XxxxX

He had said his chakra control was too weak to do the henge… he had said that he needed help, not straight-forwardly, but he had said it…

She was a Hyuuga. Her chakra control was something that at least, she would be proud of. Maybe the only thing she would be proud about herself…

Her Byakugan also helped pretty much a lot, since it allowed her to not only feel what she did, like most ninja, but actually see the whole through the whole process, thus making her efficiency in chakra control increase ten fold…

But this posed no large fit, especially when you are a Hyuuga. It was pretty common for this clan to have an exceptional chakra control…

She could help him… she had the power to do it… just like he was a boulder of strength for her to lean on in times of peril, without him knowing, sadly, she could do the same now. She could help him get what he needed…

Strangely enough, she forced away the idea of just overhearing what he needed, get it and secretly give it to him…

And one day, when she would reminisce this small incident and think about it, she would thank the heavens…

XxxxX

The clouds where so pretty… taking forms of anything the imagination would allow, as they danced around the skies, free from everything, free from the boundaries of earth…

He could feel the soft grass under him, he could hear people walk by, sparring him no more than a glance. He just wanted to forget everything, get away from it all, get up there in the heavens and hide from everything, all the pain, all the misery, just… everything. There wasn't anyone to miss him here. Well, Iruka and maybe the old-man Hokage would, but there wasn't anyone else. And up there, he could meet his parents as well! Yeah, he could join with them up there…

What had he to live here for, anyway? Be Hokage? Then what…?

Why did he think of all of these right now? Why did this all come out now?

Tirion smiled sadly to himself as he saw through the blonde's thoughts that the boy had noticed something was unusual. No wonder… the boy was keeping all these thoughts locked away in his mind, locked away in doors unseen, dark corners that he wanted to keep shadowed forever.

But Tirion wouldn't let him be like that. If the boy was ever to be a Paladin, if he was ever to be a _man_, he had to face his fears, he had to face himself. So here he was, opening these doors… letting Naruto see and think what he wanted to keep himself blind from… and hopefully, he would overcome it…

And then he heard it. The rapid beating of a heart, the soft, quick and short breaths, the careful steps on the ground…

It was a girl… Tirion tried to wrestle some control of the boy's mind, if only to work on a small trick…

For if what he had felt through the Light was right, said nervous-as-hell person would soon turn away and probably hide…

So, why postpone the inevitable? If he knew such people well enough, the chances of this happening again where slim to none…

Plus, he had taken a liking to this girl from the very start…

Naruto suddenly, somehow, felt an urge to look to his right… he didn't know why, he just felt it.

And as he was used to obey to his emotions, something later on Tirion hoped that they would work on, Naruto did look…

XxxxX

She would faint, she would faint, she would most certainly faint…

Yet she felt something keeping her from doing just that… the closer she got, the more she felt as if something was trying to sooth her, as if there was someone there encouraging her… it felt strange, comforting…

But when she saw his blue eyes… these eyes, locking on her form, she felt as if her whole body was paralyzed, if only for a moment…

"Uhh…" the blond said as an awkward moment passed. He was pretty sure the girl something wanted… the way she looked at him proved his point. The question was, what did she want from him?

"You're… Hinata, right?" she only nodded in response, her cheeks having a quite deep shade of red…

He did remember her… he had sat next to her a few days ago… she was that weird Hyuuga girl, wasn't she?

"_**Compose yourself child. She's a girl, women need special attention…" **_Naruto grinned inwardly as he was prepared to do what he knew how to do… and that was, of course, start yelling incoherent things and make of himself to make her smile or at least pay attention to him…

"_**Compose yourself!!" **_he felt Tirion's voice roaring in his mind, shaking him off balance as it sounded like a thunder rolling in a maelstrom. And of course, Naruto being who he is, fell down on his back…

A gasp escaped from the petite girl as she watched the boy fall down and she slowly approached, seeing him groaning with eyes closed in pain. It shouldn't hurt that much to fall, especially on grass…

The boy quickly snapped out of it as he jumped on his feet, hand instinctively reaching for the back of his head to rub the respective spot, a sheepish smile on his features…

"Heh, sorry, I'm very clumsy!" he said with a laugh…

It wasn't lost to him that she giggled as well, if only silently before she clasped a hand before her mouth…

"G-gomen…" she whispered…

Naruto, on the other hand, just looked strangely at her. That laugh sounded… well, pretty. Maybe he could get some more out?

With that thought in mind, he actually found his Henge abilities useful, at least for once…

Gathering his chakra, he concentrated as much as he could…

"Henge!"

And in a poof of smoke, where once a short blond boy stood, now was the Hokage…

Well, you could say it was the Hokage… with the exception of a quite long and pointy nose, accompanied by full-face white make-up, red lip-gloss and dark circles around the eyes, the pipe the old-man usually was seen with hanging loosely from the edge of his mouth.

And to add to it, the Hokage robes where replaced by a smooth pink kimono…

Naruto really had put all his art in this one…

For Hinata could barely hold herself as her giggling began to intensify…

"Aw, come on! Let it out!" Naruto encouraged as he took his form again, Hinata's giggling slowly coming to a halt as she gave him a shy smile, her shyness forgotten, if only for a moment…

"I-it's not p-proper…" she said slowly, her smile vanishing as a sad expression took over.

"Oh, you're right!" Naruto once more did a hand seal…

In a poof of smoke, a parody of Hiashi appeared, the make up and appearance the Hokage-henge had now put on the man as well…

Naruto had seen the particular Hyuuga a few times, when he had come to personally escort his daughter home…

"We Hyuuga's are superior! It's a shame to laugh! It's a shame to be funny! Long live the stuck-up clan!" Naruto started exclaiming in the best mock of a commanding voice that he could, making gestures and pointing in the sky as he exclaimed the last phrase, earning quite the fit of giggles from the blue-haired girl…

She couldn't help herself. Even though her shy nature usually kept her from such expressions of cheerfulness or anything open at all, Naruto just had the way to make the world look brighter…

And she felt at ease. For once, she indeed felt peaceful… like there wasn't a care in the world. Just Naruto, a tranquil park, disturbed only by the blonde's antics, and a clear blue sky in a cool spring day…

"So, name's Naruto Uzumaki! You?" he said as he turned back into himself, remembering what little etiquette he knew about making acquaintances.

"I-I'm Hyuuga H-Hinata. P-please to meet y-you" she said with a small smile, her blush increasing ten fold as he suddenly crossed an arm around her shoulders, a gesture that came natural to him, and even though she felt uncomfortable, she was pretty sure that she wouldn't tell him to back off anyway… for more reasons than one.

"So, would you like to be my friend? I'm kinda short on them these days…" he said, rubbing the back of his head. Truth be told, his only 'friends' where Kiba, Shikamaru and Chouji, but even they couldn't be considered 'the real thing', since they hanged out only a few times in school, when they pulled a prank as a group.

Of course, having not expected something like this at all, the blue-haired girl did what Naruto later on would come to expect occasionally…

She fainted.

And of course yet again, he being who he is, didn't react in time to catch her…

Thank God the soil was soft…

XxxxX

Naruto panicked as he tried to awake the unconscious girl, bewildered by the fact that someone had fainted on him. Maybe she was ill? Well, she looked kind of pale now that he thought about it… wasn't her skin color red?

He couldn't hear Tirion face-palming himself…

What could he do now? Taking her to the hospital could be kind of hard, since people would most likely kick him out… but she was a Hyuuga, they would help her for sure!

And with this thought in mind, the young Jinchuuriki managed to set the girl on his back and moved forward. Thankfully, she wasn't that heavy, he would manage till they reached the white-filled building.

Now… this was maybe the first time he had such a close physical contact with anyone… at least of his age…

XxxxX

He sighed as he made himself comfortable on the soft grass, that never ending sunset blazing in the heavens as streaks of otherwise white clouds littered the sky, a magnificent sight to behold from atop the mountain…

"You know… it just never gets easier…" he said more to himself, rather than the one next to him…

"I know Tirion… I know…" said the man next to him, he too sitting down, legs stretched before him and titled slightly, a purple open-rose in his hands… he examined it slowly, whirling it around, taking in its beauty and form…

"He reminds me so much of Taelan… and of others…" he confessed, his voice sounding tired, as if eons of struggles had passed before him to remind him of a painful past…

"Who are these others…?" asked the man next to him yet again, raising the flower to take in its scent… beautiful…

"Arthas… he loves his home very much and is more loyal than a dog… at least for now…" Tirion stole a glance at his companion in this fantasy of the mind, dark purple robes decorating his body with wide black streaks here and there, dull spiky gold hair having a shade of orange in the never ending sunset, a seemingly colored beard decorating his chin…

"Let's just hope it won't be his downfall…" the man said, his eyes still locked with the flower in his hand as he kept twirling it around slowly, his voice sounding far away, as if he talked to Tirion, yet wasn't there at the same time…

"He also reminds me of you…" he whispered…

The man stopped twirling the flower, taking it in both hands and gently rubbing it with his gloved hands, leather gauntlets wrapped around his skin…

"Why?" he asked after a minute of silence…

The Paladin next to him searched for the right words within his mind, searched to say the right things to give the man next to him the right picture, what truly was there…

"He has courage, you can expect him to go in battle with a smile… he loves those close to him, and if he cultivates this attribute, I wouldn't be surprised if he ever even sacrificed himself…" the man next to him stopped twirling the flower, his rubbing becoming slower, but stronger…

"Tell me… Tirion… is this all…" the flower started dissolving, breaking into hundreds of little pieces, they flying away with the breeze and into the colorful sky…

"A dream…?" his voice sounded forlorn, out of place, as he reminisced the last time something like this had occurred…

"In a way, it is… Darion…"

The man slowly turned his head, revealing an emotionless pale face, his eyes, that in the times of the past used to be an intense blue color, now shined with a pale shade of teal and blue…

"How…? I'm not connected to the Light anymore… it cannot reach me, not this deep in the abyss…" his expression remained silent, void of any emotion, but his voice was tinged with sadness…

"Our bond with the Light can never be severed Darion… no matter how much you change, no matter where your soul or heart goes, a piece of it will always be there…" the Paladin smiled to the man next to him, he sighing, the only sign of emotion he had given so far…

And it kept coming, as sadness overtook him, his glowing eyes gazing down from the hill they sat on, the mountain they where in the beginning having changed into that all too familiar scenery that he had once found himself in the past. Trees surrounding them, mountains visible at the other side of the valley, a forest decorating the land bellow, and a brilliant sunset washing their forms with its colorful light…

"You don't know how it is to serve _him_, Tirion. You don't know how it _was_…" both men stayed silent for a few long moments…

"You don't feel anything… you don't feel at all… all you can see, all you can hear, is his voice, commanding you to slaughter in his name…" he had no Gods, no divines to thank…

"Not a joyful experience was it?" the Paladin attempted to humor, earning a small smile from the warrior next to him.

"No, it was not. But aren't you dead, Tirion…?" the man in question only sighed as he nodded…

"Old fool… if you had heard me, if you had… no matter, look where your fair fights have gotten you… look what your virtues have granted you! Death!" he sat up, glaring at the Paladin next to him, teeth gritted in anger.

"Darion…"

"No… you could have lived, Tirion… you could have lived… that's what angers me about the Light. That's what makes me doubt its power. It binds you, Tirion! It binds you!" fury was evident on the man's features as he yelled at the Paladin…

"The Light was your downfall Tirion… it was the downfall of us all…"

"And what should I rely on, Darion, what should I rely on? Should I search for a mighty runeblade like Arthas did? Should I raise an army of undead and then take over the world?!" Tirion started retorting, standing up himself.

"You sacrificed yourself to save your father… I, sacrificed my self for Azeroth, to end a reign of terror that could otherwise end our world as we know it!"

"But that's the point, Tirion. You could save the world… you just wouldn't have to die"

"That's what makes us different from them, from you, Darion! The Argent Crusade is not the Ebon Blade! Yes, indeed we are bound to do the right thing, but if the righteous path was easy, Darion, then wouldn't many follow it us well…?"

"Tirion…"

The Paladin sighed…

"True strength my boy, doesn't come from a weapon, doesn't come from a skill. It comes from the Light, your heart and your will." A void of emotions settled on the last Mograine's features as he gazed upon the Paladin…

"You may hold powers unimaginable; you may be able to rule the world. But being able to do something doesn't mean that you also can…"

"You may build a throne of bayonets, but you can't sit on it for long…" Darion remarked himself...

"That's what Arthas did. And that's what _we_ _won't _do. I won't let myself, nor Naruto to fall that low, to fall in the darkness like he did… I'll be here for the boy…"

"For how long, Tirion? For how long will you safeguard him from evil? You won't be here forever, we both know that…"

"Indeed I won't. That's why I'm going to make sure that someone will…"

"And who is this, someone?" Darion asked in curiosity…

The warrior before him grinned widely…

"Let's make a deal, Death Knight. Are you interested…?"

"I'm all ears…"

XxxxX

**Any questions will be gladly answered with a review response ^^ That's why I don't like unsigned reviews... I don't know how to respond to you guys! And I can't type my answer in the next chapter in order to respond, because I tend to forget what you guys asked about. =P Troublesome...**

**So... see that buttong that says 'Review'? Reviews keep me going, there's no author if there are no readers, am I wrong? ^^  
**


	4. What Light? I don't see any Light

**Disclaimer: Albeit my wishes, I own neither Naruto nor World of Warcraft (Goes and sulks in a corner) ;p**

**OK guys, first of all, allow me to apologize for my long absence. Life can be like crap, I had some personal problems I had to take care of as well as school thingies (thank god, school is over for summer! The only thing keeping me away from complete freedom is the perilous time of the year called 'Summer Exams' -.-)**

**And, to add to it, it wasn't easy to write this chapter for I was running low on ideas. Frankly, I finally managed to find a way for Naruto to sneak in the library ;p**

**Some things that are mentioned in this chapter, will of course (as I always do anyway) be explained later on. That's my way ;p**

**Oh, and please, enjoy!  
**

_**The Ashbringer: Shinobi of the Light**_

_**Chapter4: What Light? I don't see any Light**_

His steps where slow, secure, steady, like any warrior's should. The wreckage was massive, the destroyed and ruined citadel only a shadow of its former glory.

And he liked it that way. For it meant that their enemy was no more, that the bane of life in Azeroth had been obliterated, once and for all.

He grasped a boulder with both hands… it was heavy. He pushed… and pushed… and pushed… the massive rock began to move…

And under it, a man sized hole could be seen on the ground. Peering inside, he couldn't help but let a small smile touch his lips. Tirion was mistaken… finally, he could rub it to the Paladin's face, that his way was mistaken…

For where the Frozen Throne once stood now lied nothing. The Lich King wasn't here anymore; his bastion of power had left Azeroth, hopefully forever.

But, where did it go… really?

XxxxX

Somewhere in the cold north, in the far edges of Snow Country, a figure lied dormant within what seemed to be a cask of ice…

Unmoving it was, motionless and lifeless. Its skin seemed pale, even though all that was visible within the snowy storm was just its outline. What made it stand out though, was the dark plate armor that it seemed to wear, a thorny helmet on its head…

His build was massive, he must have been a strong and tall man. The figure was sitting, as if it gazed out in the world from within an icy cask…

A blade could be seen lying in one of his hands, facing downwards, embed in the cold ground, runes running from the base of the hilt till the edge, the skeletal head of a goat made of steel graced the hilt. The very figure of the blade was intimidating, let alone its wielder…

For now he lied dormant… for now he laid waiting till his powers where restored…

But when he would awaken…

The world would come to an end.

XxxxX

What a beautiful, sunny day it was! The sun was shining, the birds where chirping, people where glaring at him…

What else could he ask for?!

Oh yeah, and to have good health! But he had never gotten ill, not even once in his life… and he had yet to figure out why. Maybe it was the fox… the demon enhanced his healing whether he liked it or not, anyway.

Gazing up in the sunny sky, he couldn't help but a let a wide grin grace his face. It had been a week since he had spoken to that girl, since she had fainted. Maybe she had forgiven him, maybe he could try and talk to her today!

Her laughter was beautiful anyway… he had to take some more out!

Yet again, he had to remind himself that she was a human being, not some kind of fruit to juice out…

His training with Tirion was progressing as well, albeit slowly. The Paladin seemed far more thoughtful lately, tending to forget himself here and there. And finally, yes, finally, he had gotten down the Alphabet of Common. It wasn't freaking easy to learn a language from another world! He just hoped that he would have it down within a few years or something…

He was beginning to love training even more nowadays. Aside from the ninja training he was taking from the academy, he was learning to control an ass-kicking power as well! But… for some reason, he had a problem calling upon it. No matter how much faith he would put in it, no matter how much he struggled to just call the damn thing down here, it just wouldn't come!

All he had managed till today in calling the Light was just a small flicker… nothing more. And for that damned flicker, he had to squeeze his mind to make it work!

Tirion could make whole shockwaves by using the holy energy… why couldn't he too…?

Leaving aside for the moment, he let his grin widen as he entered the academy…

XxxxX

Now this was troublesome… While the blond boy had faith, his stubbornness' and impatience where his undoing when it came to using the Light. He tried to _command_ the Light to come to him, to _bend_ it, while what he really had to do was put his faith in it, let it come to him, embrace him…

But the boy wouldn't open up. His soul, sad as it was, was too closed up to accept something like the Light, something pure. For what he had gotten in his childhood was everything but pure.

Beaten down, almost murdered countless times… these where not things a young child should experience, this where not things anyone should experience…

So Naruto was closed up to himself. He was closed up and didn't let anyone see his sadness, not even himself.

But until they had worked on it, until Naruto did decide to be himself and let his mockery slide, they would make no progress…

The Light would never aid him…

XxxxX

Opening the door to the classroom slightly, he was more than relieved that Iruka wasn't here yet. And was also glad that said man was his teacher for today. If it was anyone else, even a minute of lateness could mean banishment from class for the day.

How unfair… how distasteful… how he wished he could shove a fireball or something up Mizuki's or any other teachers' (With the exception of Iruka of course) area where the sun doesn't shine…

But would he be better than them if he did what they did? No, he wouldn't… one thing that Tirion had gotten in his head was this; Don't do to others what you don't want done to yourself. And he would follow this to the letter, unless the circumstanced demanded otherwise.

For as pure and virtue-full a Paladin may be, Naruto would still be a ninja, in service of the Hokage. And that meant that he would have to do things that he wouldn't want to, things that would go against being a Paladin…

But he couldn't help it. That was what he was, what he was going to be. And if the Light didn't accept it

Then he would just have to make do without it.

He decided to let these thoughts slide for the time being, as he realized he was standing there, peeping in the student-filled classroom for no reason at all as he was drown in his thoughts. Opening the door and stepping inside, he wasn't surprised to hear many gasps and see heads turn to him. Of course, after a glance that let them know he wasn't Iruka, they all turned back to their business.

And then he spotted her. That petite girl in the oversized jacket, sitting always in the back row. It was then that he truly took in the fact that she had blue hair, a pretty unique color among her peers. And it made a nice contradiction with her pale skin…

Which at the moment, seemed to get redder and redder? He once again doubted Tirion's words, that the girl's skin color was pale, not red. Then again, the warrior was a grown man, you would expect him to know the difference between red and white…

Nevertheless, he hoped she wasn't getting red in anger. She would take such a shade every time he stepped into class from the day after the small incident between them and if she was angry, he didn't want to have even more punches headed towards him, or yet another person hating him… Sakura was enough, anyway.

But he knew he had to take a chance. People tended to blush for various reasons. Maybe it was too hot in that oversized jacket… yeah, that should be it!

Confident in his assumption, he headed straight for her row, sitting next to her and she looking down at the wooden desk as if it was the most interesting thing in the world, fingers playing with one another as her face kept reddening…

"Hey, are you ok? You're quite red…" he said with concern as he neared, his manners and everything he knew about 'personal-space' forgotten (well, there wasn't much to forget anyway…). A small gasp was elicited from her as she quickly tried to form the words…

"N-n-no, I'm o-o-k!" she answered, fearful that if he got closer, she would faint…

"Okay!" he exclaimed with a wide grin, thankful that she talked to him and didn't seem angry. Maybe a little fearful? Aww, come on! She was afraid of him too? Perfect, and he thought he was in the right way to make a friend…

"_**You are currently doing the worst thing a ninja can do: You are assuming…"**_ Tirion said slowly in his mind. From what academic books he had studied through the blond, he had learned quite a handful of things about these 'Ninjas' and their philosophy over combat and battle, as well as their way of thinking.

While ninjas could be honorable, their way of fighting could usually rely mostly on either strength and intelligence, or illusions and back-stabbing tricks. Which meant that they could be easily compared to rogues, as they where called in his world. Stealthy, agile, efficient. But he had also taken note that some of them lacked in these fields…

So, ninjas seemed to be more than mere rogues. They could occupy every spot, from a battle-resilient, tough and towering straight-forward warrior to a silent, agile, stealthy and accurate assassin. Hell, their usage of this 'techniques' made them even look like Battle-Mages, which in Azeroth where known not only for their melee combat skills but for their utilization of magic as well…

XxxxX

The rest of the day rolled slowly, as Naruto tried to concentrate on what Iruka was saying about chemistry and poisons, while the girl next to him desperately struggled to keep her attention to class…

XxxxX

"You sure know how to pick a beverage, Gorley" said an exasperated male voice as he glared in the object within his hands…

"But… that's all we can afford for now." and with that, he chucked down the confines of his mug, trickles of beer running from the edges of his mouth.

"Hah! Yer' think you can match a dwarf in drinkin'? I'll show ye how real drinking is!" said another male voice from besides him, said man now emptying his own mug in one shot, similar streaks of liquid escaping his mouth and drenching his long, reddish beard.

"There ya go!" he said with a grunt as he slammed the mug on the wooden counter. "Barbie! Another one!" he yelled and a tall man arose from behind the counter, a light cigarette in his mouth as he eyed the two curiously.

"You already finished this one…?" he asked in a whisper, disbelieving as he was. He had seen plenty of drunks in his life… but none of them could drink alcohol that fast as if it was water...

Shrugging, he grabbed the two empty mugs before the two customers and went to the barrel behind him to refill them… they could drink all they wanted, as long as they paid for it that is.

Now, the two said customers where quite unique, even in their appearance. One of them was short, wearing a dark blue cloak and a hood that covered most of his face, leaving only a long and rich red beard to be visible, along with a similar thick moustache. Green eyes seemed to gleam under the hood at the thought of yet another round of liquid perfection, an aged face with plenty of wrinkles being nothing but energetic… the man was practically ready to jump from his stool and into that big round beautiful barrel if it meant that he could get his hands on more beer…

His body wasn't that much visible from behind the counter, since he seemed quite short… well, there wasn't anything to really look at anyway. He seemed to wear a standard everyday man's clothing, a greenish vest wrapping his chest, red leggings made of cotton along with a sturdy brown belt, a book wrapped on his side.

Well, what could make this short man stand out could be the mace that was wrapped on his back…

It was a _big _mace, at least for his size…

The other individual and partner in drinking seemed to have the height of an average man, a dull red cloak covering his back as well as a seemingly colored hood hiding his face, a brown beard being visible as the man sipped on his beer slowly. Under the cape was what looked like some kind of robe, a kimono even. It was a deep blue in color with plenty of golden layers here and there, a red sash tied on his waist, what looked like a well-crafted thin metal stick with a gem on it hanging loosely from a strip of his sash.

He hated owing favors… it was one of the few things that he disliked. But, the thrill of an adventure always overtook that dislike. And here he was now…

With a Dwarf drank-yard at his side…

He just hoped they could afford both the tons of beer Gorley was sure to drink, and have a somewhat comfortable stay around this land. He cursed his intelligence for not bringing some extra gold with him…

The barman turned to polish a glass that was stained with the left-over of a Bacardi…

"Hey Barbie! Next round!" he turned around, only to see the short man waving an empty mug in the air.

Needless to say, he was more than stupefied…

XxxxX

"**Checkmate"**

Sigh "You just can't play an entertaining game of chess with a demon…"

"**Not my problem, mortal." **

"Even for a demon, you at least know how to make these dull hours run more smoothly, that much I can admit…"

"**I've been in this rotting cage for ten years…"**

"True enough, true enough… so up for another round? We still have around three hours until Naruto finishes with the academy"

"**Indeed. But why would you spend your time with me, Paladin? Why are you here to begin with?"**

"Let's just say, that since both of us are going to be here for a _long _time, we could get more acquainted"

"**You are aware that if I could, I would smash you without a second thought, don't you?"**

"I never forgot that, demon. But, since you can't do that, and since talking sense into that kid is nearly impossible…" both chuckled for a moment…

"I need to kill my time"

"**I could save you the trouble. Why don't you come closer…?"**

"Don't mock me, wretch. Now let's set the board again…"

"**Very well. At least I can crush you in a board game… for now"**

XxxxX

It was only then that he realized there was someone else next to him as well. Right to his left, lied the sleeping form of one of the other students, the one who happened to be right behind him for the position of 'dead last'.

Nara.

Shikamaru Nara.

He really wondered why such a lazy guy had such a big name… he could as well be called 'Shi' or something…

"Hey, you awake?" he asked as he eyed the 'sleeping' boy. A groan was his answer…

And of course, a mutter of how life was 'troublesome' soon followed.

Despite himself, Naruto let it slide for the moment. He could always get this lazy guy working later on. Now, there where other matters at hand. Like, how the hell was he supposed to talk to a girl? Screaming into her ear didn't seem the best of choices, neither pestering her to no end. Experience told him that much…

XxxxX

"Ahh… this beer is good mate, though you really gotta try out some dwarven stout" said a satisfied short man as he rubbed his belly, full as it was now from the endless mugs of liquid he had chucked down.

The man next to him finished up his own part and placed the mug slowly on the counter. Tossing a gold coin to the barman, he grabbed his 'friend' from the cloak and started dragging him out…

Said friend now lied asleep of course, snoring loud like a dragon…

They were still a few weeks away from their target, but he sincerely didn't know if he could put up with this Dwarf for another day. He wasn't that much of a drinker, he had drank only two or three mugs, while the damn 'Sink' had finished up a whole barrel!

At least he put the reputation of the Dwarves in high standard…

You could in no way in hell, match a Dwarf in drinking…

XxxxX

Tirion smiled to himself as he moved one of his pieces forward, placing his tower right before Kyuubi's king…

And winning the match.

"It looks like it's my turn to checkmate…" he couldn't help but grin widely as the fox growled…

"**I'll admit you won this time around mortal… don't think it will happen all the time"**

"It didn't even cross my mind" Tirion kept grinning as he dissolved his golden pieces with a wave of his hand, they disappearing in small flashes of light. The demon's own crimson pieces started melting into an ethereal red substance and retreated back in the cage…

"Who could ever imagine that your fearsome power could be used to play chess…"

Kyuubi only growled even more but didn't argue on the subject…

XxxxX

Through the vast darkness that loomed above everything, through the black clouds that blackened the sky, he gazed upon the ground, the armies of his enemy marching forward in a last assault…

Dragons made of bone launched icy novas on the flying citadel, his own warriors meeting them in the sky on their skeletal gryphons…

They wouldn't make it. They would stand and fight for hours, maybe days, but they wouldn't make it. They couldn't defeat such a vast army… not alone, at least.

Fools. They where all fools! If they had heard him… if Tirion had at least listened…

Now Azeroth lied in flames… the Ebon Hold, his fortress, was one of the few last bastions of resistance.

And they too, would fall soon…

"Arm the cannons! Don't let them in!" he yelled behind him, his warriors running rampart as they tried to do their best to defend their home.

He unsheathed his twin blades, long as they where in length, with runes blazing on the blade, a skull with icy blue eyes on the guard, the hilt wrapped in blue leather. The steel was edged, able to cut and shave at the same time. The chill of death danced around them…

Without a word, he moved forward, slicing a ghoul in half. The damn undead where pouring inside the stronghold like water into a bucket…

He gazed around him… his warriors where fighting the hordes adamantly, slicing through the dead like a knife through butter. He focused forward... three ghouls…

Three seconds.

Moving, one blade beheaded one of the monsters while the other sliced the one at his other side in half. The last one charged forward, but before it could even get close it found both of the Death Knight's blades in its chest…

It could only gurgle before it fell to the ground, finally dead.

He smiled to himself. It took him two seconds…

But the swarms kept coming, unending hordes of moving corpses, their only purpose to destroy…

They wouldn't last long… he could already see a few of his knights faltering… he made his choice… for the good of his men, they had to leave. Leave now, or die…

"Warriors of the Ebon Blade! Retreat!!" he roared and every death knight in hearing range started moving backwards…

His glowing teal eyes scanned the area once more… the undead kept coming, their numbers where limitless!

He slammed both blades in the hard floor of the stronghold…

"**Frozen Earth…"** his words where obeyed as every last enemy within range was frozen in small icy casks, unable to move even an inch.

He focused his power within his swords… and with two mighty throws, the blades started moving on their own as they sliced through each and every one of the frozen monsters, breaking them into nothing but pieces…

Gripping his blades as they returned to him, he started falling back himself, the whole building starting to shake under the pressure of the dragons' attacks.

Arthas wasn't here… yet his lieutenants seemed to have enough power to control these armies… damn him! Damn him to hell!

An orc appeared before him, saluting with a fist to the heart

"Lord Darion, the southern rampart is lost! The Scourge is throwing its whole might on our flank!" he yelled in his deep, hoarse voice, loud enough for Darion to hear through the madness of battle that roared around them.

"Retreat to the inner sanctum! We have to get out of here! The Ebon Hold won't last for much longer!" he yelled back, the orc nodding and saluting once more before leaving to carry out his orders to the rest of the warriors. If Lord Darion wanted them to the inner sanctum, that could mean only one thing…

Darion gave a glance behind him…

"**Dancing Rune Weapons…" **he whispered and two replicas of his blades materialized and rushed for the oncoming dead. The brainless monstrosities could do little to avoid the rampaging swords as they sliced through them.

That would hold them back, at least for a little.

He run, for little choice he had. They wouldn't fall now… he wouldn't let them be destroyed now…

The Ebon Blade would persevere.

XxxxX

"Well, well, what do we have here?" Tirion said to himself as he gazed through the blonde's eyes, wary of what was going in the outside world. Surprised he was on what the boy was thinking and looking at.

"He's putting his brain in use, for once…" he grinned to himself…

XxxxX

"Ano, Iruka-sensei" a curious pink haired girl asked as she raised her hand, catching her teacher's attention.

"I thought that the more chakra you put in a jutsu, the more powerful it would be" she said as she titled her head, twin curious emerald eyes gazing upon her teacher as she waited for an answer.

The mere mention of jutsus, of course, also caught a certain blonde's attention…

Iruka, on the other hand, instead of reinforcing the girl's thoughts as most students thought he would, only shook his head negatively.

"Well, what you say actually is true for some jutsus, like elemental ones. For example, a water dragon is actually more powerful if you pump more chakra into him." He took a glance around the classroom…

"But… other, more delicate jutsus, like medical ones for example, require precise amounts of chakra and control. Fuuin (sealing) jutsus are also in that category, though these ones rely more on the preciseness of their creators. A sealing scroll, for example, that is full of smudges is less effective by a perfectly made one by far. Am I clear?" he glanced around the classroom once more. Quite many were the heads that nodded, some feigning understanding and some not. Seeing that Sakura, who had brought the matter up, nod in understanding herself, he smiled and started strolling towards his desk, intent on giving yet another lecture on how chakra control was very vital for any shinobi…

Surprised would one be, if he had actually found out that Naruto had listened as well...

And of course, Tirion never missed the chance to gain some more knowledge, especially when in unknown territory.

But they still had to get into that damn library… oh well.

XxxxX

And so the hours did pass, Naruto having finally gotten out of the academy and into the fresh air of the world…

Wait, since when did fresh air smell like a wet dog…?

"_Kiba…!" _he screamed into his mind as he ducked, a blur of gray practically flying above him in what seemed like an attempt to take a grasp. The offending boy crushed into the ground, shook a little and then picked himself up, grinning widely at the ramen-lover who looked at him in terror.

"Oi, Naruto!" he greeted and jumped towards the blond again, said blond eluding away yet again. Kiba's grin was wide as ever as he kept chasing the other boy around, both disappearing shortly after in one of the alleys as their game of tag went on.

Naruto wouldn't mind tagging with Kiba… the problem was, that if Kiba caught him while smelling like a soaked dog, the stench would remain on him for days…

And of course, that wouldn't come in handy for a prankster like him, would it?

XxxxX

Sarutobi was an old man, a man who had seen countless things that any common human wouldn't dare imagine. He had been through wars, a crisis or two, happiness and sorrow alike. His world was a strange mixture of everything, and he couldn't be more satisfied, for he could go in the afterlife knowing that he had lived…

Maybe it was because of this that he felt sorry for these people… the reports he was getting from his agents in the borders sounded anything but amusing.

His wary eyes quickly scanned the documents he held as he shifted through said papers. All these reports had plenty in common. All where murder victims, mostly civilians and even a few of his ninja, whom Sarutobi knew as potent and strong men who where more than capable of handing themselves against any regular opponent.

Another mutual point was the age factor. All victims ranged between teenagers and men and women that had passed their twenties. And that was to say the least… disturbing.

The first two strikes had happened to appear right at the border, in a small village that served as a trade post with Grass. Plenty of people came in and out of this quiet town and crimes there were slim to none.

What was strangely common to them both, was that the corpses where found pale and cold, even though they had been revealed nearly a few hours after having gone missing. That was too fast for any human to lose his temperature…

So what was going on, really? It was no normal killer or thief, that was for sure. Plus, none of the corpses had any wounds whatsoever. Neither where they suffocated or brought to death by any mean known to man. You could truthfully say that they just dropped dead on the spot…

He shook his head, wary of the headache that had started to form. Glancing at his desk, he was bewildered to notice a new stack of papers glaring at him and calling his name… not in the good way.

Either he was too absorbed in his work and didn't notice his secretary bringing these in…

Or paperwork could magically shunsin itself in his office…

Either way… "I'm getting too old for this…" he whispered as he lit his pipe…

XxxxX

The blond boy took casual steps forward as he neared the wooden double-doors of the building. Everything was quiet… at least for now.

A mischievous glint shone in his blue eyes as he held the water balloon in his hand. God only knew what kind of prank he was going to pull again…

Well, the woman at the library's office would find out soon enough anyway…

Glancing around, he was glad that the street was empty at the moment. He opened the door slowly, peeking inside and immediately taking note of two citizens walking slowly around the shelves and a mid aged woman sitting behind the desk.

'_Perfect…'_ he thought as he walked inside, his watery weapon hidden behind his back.

It didn't take more that a few seconds for the librarian to spot him. It also didn't take long for a scowl to form on her face.

"What are you doing here? The library is closed" she said, a hint of venom dripping from her words as she glared daggers at the blond. Said boy only grinned even more widely as he exposed his weapon – which had remarkable drenching capabilities one could say-, making the woman's eyes widen even further.

"Wha…" she couldn't say anything else as the aforementioned water balloon found its way through the air and into her face, drenching her clothes and short brown hair, the rest of the water hitting the wooden floor with a loud splash…

"You…" anger and fury were evident in her voice as she glared death to the still grinning boy.

The few citizens that happened to occupy the library noticed what happened themselves and started sitting up or walking towards the boy…

"It's the demon brat!" one of them yelled and that seemed enough to bring an arousal around the whole building.

"He attacked the librarian! Get him!!" another yelled and many barked their agreements as they rushed towards the boy. The grin on his face though never faltered as he rushed for the exit…

The door opened, a brown haired boy stepping in with a little white-brown dog lying on his head. Kiba looked bewildered for a moment, as Naruto passed by him, throwing him a wide grin for a mere second before focusing his whole attention on running, a crowd of angered book-lovers giving chase behind him, librarian included.

After a few seconds, Kiba could faintly hear yells and shouts coming from the street as the door closed, the library now void of life with the exception of his presence… and Akamaru, of course.

A wide, fox-like grin found its way on his face…

XxxxX

He kept running and running, knowing exactly where he wanted to go from the very start. His nose could easily tell which the right way was…

Turning around another sharp corner, the enraged crowd that seemed to only enlarge in the past few minutes, failed to notice the small puffing sound that came right afterwards…

"Mom! Mom! Help!!" they heard the little monster yelling…

"Who are you calling at, you motherless piece of shi…" as they too turned the corner, their eyes where wide as they noticed a particular woman glaring death to all of them, fangs bared and growling, daring any of these fools to take one step closer…

"Excuse me…?" she spat and the villager that had dared to say the insult took a step back…

For before them was neither the demon brat, nor the ghost of any of his ancestors.

Before them was Kiba Inuzuka, smirking behind his mother…

And said mother, Tsume Inuzuka, looked pissed…

XxxxX

"I think that's the last of 'em" Naruto said with a sigh as he slipped another book into his backpack, Akamaru barking his agreement from the top of his head, sniffing the air every now and then.

"**Indeed, I don't think we will require anything else for the time being. Good job, Naruto"** he heard the Paladin's voice from within and he couldn't help the grin that found its way on his face. At last, someone was praising him…

He heard Tirion's deep chuckle…

"**Don't worry boy, more will come if things go well. But don't contemplate on it now, you're friend won't be able to stall them for much longer" **the man's voice sounded slightly worried, unsure.

It was then that Naruto's grin turned into a knowing smirk…

"Oh don't worry, even if Kiba won't hold them for long…" he started checking the bookshelves again, wondering if these books really could be of any use. He was sure he was going to have a headache later on…

"His mother will." His smirk only widened

"Now… where was 'History of Chakra' again…?" he asked himself as he surveyed the lengthy shelves…

Tirion closed his eyes and shook his head slowly, a grin on his face…

XxxxX

Tsume had a satisfied smirk on her face as she stomped her booted foot on one of the men's back, he groaning in pain…

"What, you still alive?" her smirk widened as the man grunted once more. She hadn't killed anyone, god no, but sarcastic remarks where always a good way to entertain oneself…

"Ok now, if I ever catch any of you pricks hunting my son around again, I won't be that gentle! Am I clear?!" she roared and she could hear the muffled responses coming from around the scattered crowd, many bodies lying on the ground unconscious, some trying to stand up and failing, other having already picked themselves up and trying to help their friends…

"What you did is treason! You have no right to assault citizens of Konoha!" Tsume sighed…

Another brave idiot. No, scratch that. Idiot was more than enough.

"By Konoha's law concerning clan property, any intruder on clan grounds will be dealt with any way the respective clan finds fitting." She glared to the man who dared speaking his mind…

"Last time I checked, this was the Inuzuka training grounds…" she waved a hand around the area. Truly enough, there where a few Inuzuka's with their respective hounds at their side, watching the scene unfold with amusement.

"And I don't remember inviting you here…" she spat

"Now, be grateful that I spared you asshole's life and LEAVE!!" she roared and as if by magic, even the ones that struggled to stand where now picking up the bodies of their allies and making a run for it…

Tsume sighed, looking down at her son who was still smirking widely

"That was awesome mom!" he said with excitement. He really looked up to his mother, he hoped that one day he could kick ass like that and intimidate people with his bare voice.

He still had a long way to go, that much was sure.

"No problem" she said as she ruffled with her son's hair, a wide grin on her face. She would always be glad to help her son's blond friend anyway she could… she owed the Yondaime that much.

It was a shame that she never could adopt the blond in the Inuzuka family, the council just couldn't sign an allowance.

Well, she hoped that at least Naruto had accomplished his goal in time…

XxxxX

Naruto smirked from his hiding corner as he spotted the librarian running back inside the library in sheer terror, her clothing having dried and being unscathed. She had probably run away from the moment she spotted Tsume, if her undamaged attire was any indication.

With a small sigh and a victorious grin, Naruto began to make his way back home…

He had a lot of freaking studying to do…

Damn Paladins…

XxxxX

**There goes... nothing big or pompous, once again I must apologize for my absence -.- I hope this didn't disheart my readers ;p Also hoped you enjoyed the chapter. I'll be more than willing to answer any questions you might pose via review answering. Of course, a piece of your mind about my story is always welcome too.**

**Another reason I forgot to mention that kept me away from writing is Bleach ;p I took a liking on the anime and in one of its pairings, which I intend to place in this story...**

**So many thigns to come! Towards The Heaven should be the next story to be updated... 'grunt' it's not easy for a lazy ass like me to work you know ;p though I see writing as more of a hobby... yeah, a hobby. One of the coolest hobbies on earth xD**

**Till we meet again,**

**HoNdeR All Mighty**

**PS: Remember to review! Your reviews might as well drive me to write some more... =)  
**


	5. Chapter 5: The Simplicity of Complexity

**A/N: So here you have it, this update took much less time than the last one eh? That's a good thing I suppose...**

**Not much to say. I would only plea for you guys to look out for plotholes... Sometimes, I write so many things in a chapter that I tend to forget to mend to them later on, even if they aren't substantial with the evolving of the story.**

**That is all, for now. Hope you enjoy  
**

_**The Ashbringer: Shinobi of the Light**_

_**Chapter5: The Simplicity of Complexity **_

His grasp was firm and sure, a small accompany to his words and to his gratitude for what his friend had done. A wide grin was tracing his mouth and a similar one was plastered on his ally's face, though a little more feral, one could say.

"Thanks again, Kiba. You and your mom really were helpful"

The Inuzuka did little to hide his enthusiasm. "Anytime you baka. What are friends for anyway?" he said and laughed, Naruto joining right in. He felt something stir inside him as Kiba said those words…

'…_Friends…'_

Was Kiba his friend? Was he someone he could rely on in a time of need? Was he someone that would be there for him when he was in trouble? It seemed so… after their little game of tag…

"_Hey, Kiba, can I ask you something?"_ _his breath was ragged and quick as he sat down next to the dog boy, Akamaru on said boy's head, waging his tail around lazily._

_Their run had brought them to a park and now both energetic youths sat down beside each other, enjoying the cool breeze and the sanctuary the tree's shadow provided from the churning sun._

"_Yeah, what is it?" the boy in question answered_

"_Is the library out of bounds for academy students or something?" he asked curiously. He didn't really like lying or taking the more shadowy path of persuasion, but he couldn't reveal the truth to his classmate, at least not yet._

_Besides, how normal would sound something like 'The Kyuubi's not allowed in the library?'… yet of course, the other boy would most likely see it as a joke…_

_Oh the irony._

"_No… it wasn't out of bounds for anyone last time I checked. There's a reason it's called 'Public Library' Naruto…" he said with a grin and a chuckle._

_The blonde shrugged, keeping up with his act of naivety._

"_It's just that, well, they won't allow me in." he said, looking down on the soft, green grass, it shining between the contradictions of the shadow of the trees and the light of the sun._

_The light…_

_Kiba looked over his friend with concern, immediately noticing the saddened expression that took over his features._

"_Why?" was the simple question._

_Naruto went on, explaining his rough life to his classmate, keeping out gory details and pretending to have no idea as to what was the reason behind all this unbiased hatred. At least, unbiased from Kiba's perspective._

"_Well, why do you want to go in the library anyway?" Kiba asked in genuine curiosity, unaware as to why someone, let alone Naruto, would want to go to one of the most boring places on the planet._

"_There are just some books I really need." Was the simple answer. Thankfully, Kiba didn't push the matter…_

"_Okay then… how about I give a hand?" he said with a wide grin. Naruto couldn't help but grin himself, his own grin wide and genuine, at least this time…_

And so it had went on. Kiba had henged himself into Naruto and took the library's attention. Considering Naruto's past, the citizens trying to hunt him down was the easiest part to accomplish.

The real fun came later… at least for Kiba.

The young Inuzuka never was good at running away from people. His very nature was that of a fighter and a hunter. His senses where made to track, his abilities where meant for assault.

So how was he supposed to deal with a crowd of crazed villagers screaming for his blood?

Or rather, Naruto's blood, but he was pretty sure that if they caught him and found out the difference, it would be a tad too late.

And that's where Tsume would work her miracles…

"_Mom!" he yelled and the mentioned woman turned back to face her only son with a wide grin, her dog howling from beside her._

"_What is Kiba? Need some extra training?" she said with a smirk. Any passerby would think this was a joke, just to frighten her son or to satisfy her own little sadistic side._

_Kiba knew it wasn't._

_He grunted and rolled his eyes "No mom, I don't need extra training…" he answered simply. She let out a hearty laugh_

"_Well, that doesn't make any difference, does it?" she asked with an overly sweet smile…_

_Kiba sighed "No, I guess it doesn't… but mom, I need a small favor" he said with a small grin, looking like a small child that shyly asked its parents for a new toy._

_Tsume became somewhat more serious. Her son rarely asked her of anything. He was an Inuzuka, survival by ones self was a must. But he was also human, so family comfort, warmth, anything a regular child would need would always be there should the need arise._

_Kiba went on, explaining Naruto's rough situation, what needed to be done, which was actually pretty simple for any normal person. How extraordinaire would it be for someone to take a few books from the library, anyway?_

_Well, it was Uzumaki Naruto. What did you expect?_

_After listening to her son's story, said son was surprised when his mother agreed to help on the spot. It was obvious that Naruto needed books to gain knowledge when nearly every instructor in that damn academy tried to deprive him from it._

_Inuzuka's where loyal… the most loyal clan Konoha could ever ask for. But like any regular dog, they where not loyal to the place. No, they did love Konoha. But their loyalties lied first to their Hokage, and then to their village._

_So Tsume could never forgive this damn village for pounding to the ground the Yondaime's last wish…_

_That day, her sadistic side grew, if only a little bit._

_The villagers found out first hand, anyway._

So here they where, the sun was beginning to descend from the sky and noon was beginning to settle in as Naruto waved goodbye to Kiba and his mother, his pack full of useful books, at least from Tirion's perspective, which could help both of them grow stronger…

XxxxX

Naruto entered his small apartment and closed the door behind him, seemingly oblivious to the massive mess that conquered the whole of his room. Sitting down on his bed, he sourly reminded himself that he hadn't had any training to day.

He had eaten his whole day to get the books from the library…

Well, ok, it was true that he stayed for a couple of hours, maybe more, with the Inuzukas and entered a dozen spars with Kiba. So basically, he had trained…

With a _friend._

He grinned at the sound the word made in his mind. It seemed to forlorn and amazing altogether, that he actually had a friend now. A person he could call a friend, a person he could depend on.

Of course, he was aware that their friendship wasn't something deep… yet. Kiba was always a step behind from being a friend with him. They would usually hang out in the academy or play games of tag and even spar on the occasional academy spars. But neither Naruto nor Kiba had ever crossed the line and became real friends. Or maybe that was what Naruto thought, maybe Kiba _did_ consider him a friend all this time and he just wasn't aware of it.

Choji and Shikamaru could come next. They too hanged out with him in the academy, but Naruto was easily aware of the bond this two had between each other. He wouldn't like to intervene…

So, setting his mind away from all that, he put a hand in his backpack and drew out a random book.

A golden eyebrow was raised as he read the title.

"**The Basics of Chakra"** god, when had he picked up this one?

He momentarily reminded himself that most of this books where for Tirion, not for him. It was the Paladin that wanted to get acquainted with all these, not Naruto. He already knew all these anyway…

I mean, come on, **"Peeling the Onion: Molding Chakra for Beginners"** what kind of title was that?

He put both books next to him and let himself relax as he fell back into bed. He felt a little sore… Kiba's 'Gatsuga' wasn't to be trifled with if you tried to defend head on. He was surprised and happy that his friend had such an ability, even if he was ten.

They where both ten… he was still just a boy… yet look in what shit life was throwing him in.

But he shouldn't be surprised… hell, he had a demon in his belly since he was a baby! How many people had that? Maybe around 8 more… if all the Bijuus where sealed in humans, that is.

"**Don't worry Naruto" **he heard a deep chuckle within his mind and groaned. He just needed some silence and time to relax… why did Tirion had to come up now? Oh yes, the books…

"**Life wasn't, isn't, and never will be easy. The only reason young people like you don't know this is that parents usually have the tendency to keep their children innocent from the sins and hardships of life for as long as possible… you where a rough exception through the lot" **Tirion's words where true, he had to admit that much. There where many orphans around the world, many that had to endure the hardship of life from such a tender age, usually with none to support them.

Naruto was an exception, through everything…

'_**In every way…' **_Tirion thought to himself with a sad smile. Hopefully, Naruto's good side would persevere… no, not hopefully. Surely was more likely. For he was here now. He was going to make sure of it. Naruto would rise to be a great man one day…

"**So, Naruto, would you please put the books back inside and hold the backback in your hands?" **he asked gently and the blond obliged with another groan, picking the two books he had taken and putting them back inside.

Holding the bag in his lap "Now what?" he asked.

"**Put a hand over the bag"** he obeyed once more…

His eyes grew wide as he could practically see a fandom of the Paladin's hand on his own, as if his limp was the one and the same with the Paladin's… excluding the armor and the difference in size, that is.

He could hear Tirion murmuring something and light seemed to shine from their… _hands_… and enveloping the bag. To Naruto's hidden disappointment, it was all over in a few seconds, the Light and Tirion's hand had faded. The bag still remained intact though, as if nothing had happened.

"**Do not worry child. All I did was copy the backpack and it's contents in your mind." **He chuckled **"One day you will find out that the Light has many… useful capabilities" **

"**I'm going to study these tomes now… I'll contact you when I'm done and we will resume our training. Till then, rest and go on with your everyday life. Remember to train both body and mind, Naruto" **he could feel the Paladin's presence fading away and he sighed. If everything went as he expected, and judging from the size of those books, Tirion would take days, even _weeks, _to finish them all.

Well, he would finally have time for himself… it wasn't a pleasure for his personal space to have someone constantly drifting in his mind, anyway…

XxxxX

The chamber was ready. Everything was set. All they needed to do now, was activate it and they would be gone from this place… gone from this hell.

He didn't hesitate. He _couldn't _hesitate, not now, not when his men needed his guidance the most. With one mighty slice, he brought yet another of those abominations to the ground, the rotting corpse now hitting the hard floor of the citadel, finally dead.

Gazing around the chamber, he easily spotted a handful of his knights struggling to reach the teleportation circle. He had to fend off as many of these beasts as he could, if only to let his warriors escape…

But would he fall? Could he allow himself to perish in order to save them? Few were the ones within the ranks of the Ebon Blade that could actually lead it, if none. No… he wouldn't die… he couldn't die. Not now… not before their purpose… _his _purpose, was fulfilled.

So here he was, slicing undead after undead, ending their miserable existences with all the fervor he could master.

To think that he was once one of them… part of the Scourge.

It disgusted him to no end.

He brought one of his mighty blades down once more, slicing a damn ghoul from head to crotch, the monster's two halves falling to the ground as his sword's blade slammed into the concrete ground.

But he wasn't finished…

Hours went and hours came, but the undead seemed to have no end to their numbers. They came again and again, the whole might of their army weighing upon his shoulders.

His breath was labored, his muscles where burning in protest, his feet felt weak, his mind was numb. All he could think was the task at hand…

How much more did he have to take…?

"Lord Darion!" he heard one of his warriors yell through the screeches and gurgles of the undead around them.

"My lord, you must retreat! All of us have made it through the portal!" the knight's strong and deep voice pierced through the madness that overwhelmed them.

Darion allowed himself to spare a second in order to glance towards the center of the chamber… truly enough, a small round portal stood in between the columns that supported the room, they arranged in such a way as to create a square.

Grunting, he started retreating towards the gate while fending off any one of these beasts that came his way. The knight that had alerted him was still there, waiting for his lord to make it inside first.

Darion took another glance at his face… he was an orc, young in appearance, or at least as young as an orc can look. Green skin was hidden under his long braided beard, glowing teal eyes on alert as his lord came in closer…

He didn't know this warrior's name… maybe he could get it later. But for now…

A hand extended and a blast of ice overwhelmed an oncoming ghoul, freezing the monster in place and letting it fall to the ground in millions of cold pieces…

Darion didn't have time to be impressed at the power of the knight's frost spell. Grabbing the hilts of his weapons with all his might, he rushed towards the portal in a final attempt to escape.

"Move!!" he shouted and the orc immediately obeyed, jumping into the swirling round gate and disappearing from view. Darion launched himself forward, diving towards the portal as numerous rotting hands lashed out to grab his now airborne form.

Pure luck it was that none of them managed to take a hold on him.

As his body got lost within the swirling mass that would take him away from this madness, Darion glanced backwards, seeing the swarms of undead hurrying to follow through the magical gate themselves. He smirked as said gate started closing rapidly, the last thing he saw being only one of them making it halfway through, resulting to its body to be cut in two pieces, one half staying back in the citadel and the other floating now in the darkness of the worlds…

A few seconds later, blackness overwhelmed his senses as Darion Mograine swam within the twisting nether of the worlds…

XxxxX

"Ok…" his brow was furrowed, his eyes where hardened, his resolve was absolute…

Stains of sweat littered his tanned forehead as he willed his focus even more, preparing himself to cast the technique one more time…

"Bunshin no jutsu!!" was the mighty yell…

…

"Aw, crap…" was what came next.

Frankly, even though he had put his all in it (again!) the damn clones would be nothing but shadows of his former self's shadow! If such a thing even existed that is…

Did he even have a former self? No wait, two months ago he didn't have a Paladin lurking in his mind, he didn't have someone else he could call sensei besides Iruka-sensei, he was two months younger, he hadn't twisted his ankle (which had amazingly healed in the precarious timeline of a day and a half), he hadn't eaten so much ramen his stomach felt like it could explode and finally…

He hadn't made any progress in the Bunshin no jutsu! Hold it… you're missing the point here!

He shook his head as he tried to set all these random thoughts aside. Why the hell would the Bunshin jutsu not work?! He put all the chakra he could in it, he seriously did! And what was the result?

A disgusted look crossed his features as he looked down at the couple of sickly clones he had brought into existence.

Well… if you wanted to trick your enemy to believe that you suddenly had a diarrhea crisis, these guys where quite convincing…

Sighing, he let himself sit down for a moment and take a breath, the clones vanishing in small clouds of smoke, leaving no trace behind.

What did he do wrong? What didn't go well with the damn technique?! Jutsus where supposed to work perfectly, especially when you put much chakra into them!

Wait, what did they have chakra control then…?

He already felt a headache forming at a mere try to remember his academics. Damn it, this clones where supposed to be an easy thing to do! All the other students could summon them, even Shikamaru!

"**I would prefer it if you learned to hold your temper, Naruto…" **he heard Tirion's voice and jumped, looking around frantically as if expecting the Paladin to jump out of nowhere.

Frankly, he didn't. Revelation then hit him that said warrior was actually within his mind…

But Tirion hadn't contacted him for two months! Since that afternoon in his apartment, the Paladin had enclosed himself in a corner of his brain, studying those murderous mind-numbing tomes of bottomless useful and useless knowledge alike.

From where did this weird way of thinking came anyway…?

"**It seems that some of my self is rubbing off on you lad." **He chuckled **"Don't worry, you aren't going to age faster than normal…" **he chuckled again, and this time Naruto was sure that he even 'saw' Tirion closing a large tome with both hands and setting him aside on a wooden table…

"**Do not tarry, it's me sending images to your eyes. You would be surprised as to what one can find in this place…"** Tirion's voice was quiet and a bit of awe graced his tone.

The human mind was an amazingly complex 'device', its capabilities unknown to anyone, even its users. Many actions a person took for granted, like moving a leg or even a single finger, where filtered through the brain without said person even realizing it.

And that was only the very tip, being able to unconsciously control our body, that is.

Most humans have only 10% or less control over their minds, meaning that the 90% that's left could hold capabilities that we hadn't even dreamed of…

Tirion was right here, within a mindscape, the very incarnation of this particular human's brain. Here, he could find answers, he could find everything…

It was simply amazing. What understanding over the mind's power could come from this? What capabilities would this experience unlock within his own mentality?

He let a smirk grace his lips at the irony… usually, the ones that really where so dedicated on the factions of the mind and all these were the Mages, the users of magic. Yet here he was, a Paladin, contemplating on the subject with awe…

He hated magic. Or more specifically, dark magic… for it was the reason, the very cause that his homeland was suffering… the very reason the darkness even existed. Holding himself before more thoughts of such caliber could come in mind, he shook his head once before turning away from his inner turmoil.

"Wait, you're talking to me… so… you're done?" he asked, half in disbelief and half in hope. The Paladin didn't allow the blond boy to see the smirk that came on his face…

XxxxX

"I really hate when you do this, you know" Naruto stated, arms crossed before his chest, his expression one of irritation. It never was in his best interests to have the world suddenly go black, only to find himself in the now familiar mountain, anyway.

Tirion only grinned back in response as he opened one of the tomes that lied before him, the rest being neatly packed in a small (yet oh so fat) stack of scripted knowledge.

He motioned with one hand for the teen to near as he flipped through the pages with his other one, his deep brown eyes searching within the contents for what he specifically needed.

With a sigh, Naruto obliged and got closer to his rather new-found sensei, sitting next to him and gazing within the book himself.

What glimpses of its contents his eyes caught already began to give him a headache… how the hell did Tirion manage to read this thing, no 'these things' seemed more suitable, was beyond his comprehension.

Stopping at a page, the Paladin's face broke once more into a grin. He pointed a gloved finger to a part of said page and Naruto momentarily wondered if the man ever got out of this tight-looking set of plate armor.

The blond boy read what Tirion pointed out and rolled his eyes.

"It explained how chakra molds into jutsus. What of it?" he asked, half irritated and half curious. Why would Tirion point out so common and insignificant? It was common knowledge that chakra was needed to cast a jutsu.

"Well Naruto, I heard your previous debate on why chakra control is needed. Got any ideas?" it was a rhetorical question, Tirion seriously didn't expect Naruto to answer it…

And he didn't. Naruto just looked at the Paladin with confusion.

"Uhh… chakra control is needed to control a jutsu, right? Like, guiding a dragon jutsu or something like that" it was a rough explanation, and it was only partially right.

Tirion sighed. It looked like they had a lot to go through…

So, without further ado, he began explaining the basics of chakra control, as he had learned them from the books. Chakra was a power, a part, an essence of the human body. Controlling it and bending it at will was a fit hard to accomplish. Therefore, humans invented what was now called 'Hand Seals', in which they made various frequencies of symbols using their hands. The order of the seals as well as precision in their creation was vital for the success of a jutsu, as well as the control the wielder had over it.

Now, control didn't only come in order for one to guide a projectile jutsu. It was also a way for one to measure the amount of chakra he put in his technique, as well as maintaining it to the proper level.

A brilliant example would be medical jutsus. Such techniques required precise chakra control and intelligence, for too little chakra could cause the technique to fail due to lack of power, or too much chakra could make it unstable, thus highly dangerous, especially to the one receiving the treatment.

Tirion kept on and on, rambling about the importance of chakra control and it's the history of chakra as he had learned it through these books, occasionally picking up another tome to pinpoint a certain related paragraph.

Naruto intently listened to the Paladin's every word… even though the content could be considered boring, Tirion had a way of making it sound like a narration, as if he spoke of a tale from his homeland, a story that went back to the ancient times.

His voice was wise and understanding, full of power and authority. He practically _made _you to listen to him. The few questions he posed were easily answered by the elder, as he continued flipping through pages and pointing to anything that he found significant for their conversation.

Tirion was indeed a wise man. And it shown in the way he spoke, in the way he taught, hell, even in the way he breathed!

Ok, he was exaggerating a little…

XxxxX

"Dead already??" a raspy matured voice said in amazement, holding up the head of a man from his hair, yet he showing no reaction to the pain that should normally come from such an action.

"Bah, I tell ya', this buffoons are hardly the effort mate!" he said as he threw the man's corpse aside effortlessly, gripping his hammer tightly with his other hand as it rested upon his right shoulder, his companion not too far away.

"Tell me something I don't know…" the hooded, taller man exclaimed with a sigh, then uttering a word, making his long metal staff shrink in size.

"Is 'at mock I hear in yer' voice mate?" the shorter, bearded man questioned as he pressed a hand behind his ear "'Cause if it is, then you'r but be lookin' for trouble too" he said as he grabbed his mighty hammer with both hands.

The weapon's hilt seemed simple enough, made of steel as it was with various decorations gracing its surface. Plus the fact that it was around a foot on its own. The head itself was massive yet seemed balanced, the sides of it being decorated with wide golden lines, the sides of it having what seemed like an emerald gleaming gem to grace them, various runes and symbols dancing around said jewelry.

"Hmph, come on Gorley, I'm too tired to pick up a fight…" the hooded man said in exasperation, folding his now small weapon on his side, it hanging loosely from his belt, the green diamond on its head gleaming in the sunlight that came down on them.

"We should also clean up the place… we wouldn't want travelers to trip on this gentlemen, would we?" he said as he kicked one of the men in the abdomen, he grunting, the force of the hit turning him around to lie with his face towards the sky.

"You let this one live?!" Gorley yelled in amazement. Many would like to call him a bloodthirsty bastard… but oh well, why not? He was of the opinion that defeat in combat meant death, anyway.

The other man shrugged "You know, it isn't all that easy to pry information out of a corpse, am I wrong?" he said with a smirk, the short man grunting as he sheathed his hammer on his back.

"Now, could you possibly have the kindness of telling us how far from here the Leaf Village is?" he said gently to the grounded and grunting man, he suddenly looking up, fear evident in his black orbs…

And maybe some amazement. How could someone not know where the Leaf was, anyway?

Gorley snorted. Trully, it was a mockery to call these villages 'Hidden', when every single man knew their location.

With a shaking finger, he pointed down the road. Both men gazed over that direction and absentmindedly noted the crisps that where made from the hot air ahead. It was indeed a hot day…

And since nothing was in sight, they surely had a lot of ways to go before reaching their destination…

The tall man sighed, pointing a finger at the fallen opponent.

"Thank you" he said with a genuine, wide grin.

A whisper left his lips and before his finger materialized a small fireball…

Then it launched itself at the man, he screaming for a split second before his whole body was incarnated…

"One down…" he looked around… around ten other corpses or half-dead idiots littered the place.

Raising his finger and carefully aiming at them one at a time, he burned all of them to ashes…

"Ye know, it's kinda cruel…" the short man said as he knelt before a former corpse, taking a handful of ash in his large gloved hand and letting it scatter in the wind…

The tall one snorted "Look who's talking"

XxxxX

The sun was diving behind the forest yet once again. Though this time, it wasn't in his mindscape, in a forested mountain with a Paladin's ghost to accompany him.

No, right now, he was sitting on the rooftop of his block of flats, resting his weight on the railing as he gazed upon the setting star. Maybe that was the real beauty of a sunset, really… it wasn't just the colors or the shade the sky took before night conquered. It was the very fact that you _knew _these colors would fade, that you _knew _that the light would seize, that the colors would fade away and blackness would overwhelm the sky, only for tiny specks of light to swim around in this endless sea.

So what was his reason to fight, really? What was his reason to exist, if all that awaited in the end was the darkness…?

He heard a sigh from beside him and slowly titled his head, immediately noticing the large figure of Tirion resting on the railing himself, his ethereal form gazing away into the sunset himself…

"You know, Naruto…" his voice was an echo in his mind, words that traveled with the wind.

"We may know that the sun will set, we may know that the darkness will come." His voice carried the sadness of his life, the essence of torment that was gripping his heart…

"But we also know…" a glimmer of hope now showed itself in his words.

"That the sun will rise again, to bring a new day, a new beginning." The warrior turned, sending a smile down at the blonde boy, said boy's expression one of doubt…

He knelt down

"That's why we fight, Naruto" he placed a gloved hand on the boy's shoulder

"Whether on this world, whether on any other"

"We don't fight so that the sun won't set, we don't fight so that the darkness won't come"

"We fight, so we can make sure, that when the time comes that despair will rain upon us, a new day will rise, so with it can come the light of hope…"

Naruto smiled at him, the smile slowly turning into a genuine grin. Maybe Tirion was right… even when you swam in a sea of sadness; you would always know that there are good things out there as well, things that will come sooner or later.

Speaking of which…

Tirion turned his gaze from the boy, only to look beyond the railing and down at the emptying street…

There was a shadow at the corner of an alley… the Paladin could easily make out the small silhouette into the rising darkness of the night.

Grinning to himself _"… why not…?"_

"Naruto…" his expression was serious, his voice firm.

The questioning gaze of the blonde didn't go unnoticed.

"There's someone suspicious down there, watching you from a corner" he pointed to the right direction and Naruto gazed over the railing himself.

He squinted his eyes "Oji-san, I don't see anyone…"

"Why don't you go take a better look? He might be dangerous…" the last words echoed as Tirion faded away, a small breeze caressing Naruto's golden locks as the warrior dissipated…

Shrugging, he began walking down the stairs and into the nearly empty street…

Needless to say, what he would find would surprise him, to say the least…

XxxxX

**A/N: I wonder who that shadowy person is, hmmm? =) **

**As usual, no idea when the next update will be, but I think I'll keep working on this story... hell, I really have to update Towards The Heaven T.T I've left my baby on the side for too long...**

**Some people ask me about Soulmate, if I'm gonna keep rewriting it. Sorry m8s, but for now the rewriting is stopped. What I had added in the short time I rewrote it won't change the plot neither will affect the story, so I think I've merely added some more spice to the story. About Towards The Heaven and The Ashbringer, this stories will be mainly Adventure ones, with a generous mix of everything else (at least I hope it will be 'everything else' ;p) Romance won't be forgotten! All things in good time...  
**


	6. Chapter 6: Something's Up

**A/N: Ok, so I had a fun time writing this chapter =D I would like to thank anyone who is sticking with me and my stories, reviews just aren't as they were in the past T.T Not sure if that made sense... anyway, hope you enjoy!**

_**The Ashbringer: Shinobi of the Light**_

_**Chapter 6: **__**Something's Up…**_

So what if the world seemed to go against him? So what if the universe itself was making conspiracies to end his existence? How little did he care at the moment… how little indeed. Amidst the dust that hovered in the air and the sounds of grunting, he could hear or see nearly no more. His body was tingling in pain, weakness overcoming his senses as he struggled to even raise his own hand. Titling his head around, his vision started to clear as the dust began to settle, allowing shining light to replace the tiny concretes.

The shining light was the last thing he saw though, along with a figure that entered his vision in the final moments of what consciousness he still had…

XxxxX

His body felt so heavy… he couldn't feel anything, it was as if only his eyes worked at the moment, allowing him to gaze on what seemed to be like a ceiling. A brown one at it…

He tried titling his neck… it was hard, not painful, but hard. It felt as if something was preventing his from moving his muscles… what was going on? Where were his companions?

And where the hell was he, anyway?

"You shouldn't move much, your body still can handle it." he heard a voice… it was kind of soft, a feminine one. Yet the source wasn't in his field of vision, thus making it hard for him to search for it in his current state.

"Your armor seemed really heavy, so I took the liberty to replace it with some clothes…" he heard the soft feminine voice again. His armor… how? Why did he feel so heavy then? Normal cloth shouldn't weight that much, should it?

"I also had to drug you… my apologies, but if I did otherwise you could be in too much pain right now." She continued, yet he couldn't help the chuckle that came up his throat. Pain…? That woman knew nothing of pain. She didn't know what it was to be a monster, she didn't know what it was to be doomed in undeath for eternity…

No physical pain could overcome this…

Surprisingly, his vocal cords seemed to work as he heard himself chuckling at the irony of the moment.

"Hm?" he heard her question, followed by footsteps on what sounded like concrete… was it tiles? Was it rock? He couldn't make it out…

He closed his eyes as a warm hand rested on his forehead, the touch soft and gentle. It was nice… tints of warmth where always welcome in a frozen life that held nothing but death and struggles.

"You don't have a fever, you're actually a little cold…" she said and he opened his eyes to gaze at his savior. He heard her gasp… why?

"Your eyes…" her figure was still a little blurry as light surrounded her and everything else. He couldn't see anything…

"Their teal… a shining teal…" he heard her comment, the warm hand caressing his cheek slowly, slender fingers examining his eyelids and the area around them. It felt warm… and good, a mother's touch, a loving touch, something he hadn't felt since years ago… so many years ago…

"A cold teal…" she whispered once more. He wasn't surprised nor insulted. That's what he was, anyway. A lost soul trapped in its body for ever. What warmness meant was something he had forgotten long ago…

"Indeed…" he whispered hoarsely, amazed at the sound of his own voice. She gasped again, this time though a little more silent one. His vision was still obscured by the blurriness that conquered all. He felt so heavy… and tired…

"You should rest some more… your body can't move for now, the drug I administered has toned down your nervous system." She explained slowly, allowing his semi-conscious state to draw in the information…

She noticed his ever so faint nod as his teal eyes closed again, his breath becoming steadier as he wandered away in the land of dreams yet again.

A faint smile graced her own features as she started to walk away from his sleeping body…

XxxxX

His footsteps were slow and silent, he could hardly hear them himself. What noise came from the street itself should be enough to cover up any of his slips. It didn't take long for him to reach the alley where the figure had shown itself half a minute earlier…

A few more steps… just a few more steps… glancing back at the roof of his apartment-complex, he noticed Tirion gazing at him from afar, another Naruto standing next to him, completely unfazed as he gazed at the sunset.

Illusions could be so helpful at such times…

No, it wasn't a clone. Heck, if he could make such a good clone, he wouldn't be where he was right now… for many reasons.

Tirion could easily manipulate the light in order to make it seem that Naruto was there. Well, it could fool the common eye, but anyone with sharper senses could easily make out the difference. Nevertheless, both Naruto and Tirion doubted the stalker was any high class guy… he wouldn't have been spotted if he was.

Just one more step…

**BAM**

That hurt…

Suddenly finding himself on the ground, he looked up to see who the hell had managed to bump into him like that. And… what a surprise, it was that weird pale-eyes girl…

Hinata?

What was Hinata doing around here anyway…?

Rubbing his forehead, which happened to be the spot of collision, he slowly stood up, grunts of pain accompanying as he felt like a sledgehammer was pounding on him.

Dismissing the pain, he looked down to see Hinata still on the ground, grasping her forehead in mutuality.

Sighing, he reached a hand out and grabbed her wrist, tugging her upwards.

"Come on, sit up. It's no good sitting on the ground like that ye' know." He said, immediately noticing the, maybe, unhealthy blush that covered her face. Where did she find all that blood…? Probably lots of water or something.

Pulling her up and letting her stand on her own two feet, he gave her an once over to make sure she was all right. Good, no apparent wounds.

"T-thank you…" she whispered, the ground suddenly being oh so interesting she couldn't tear her eyes away.

Scratching the back of his head, Naruto shrugged as he peeked around the corner and into the alley. Nope, no one. That bastard must have had escaped while he was on the ground or something… dang, Hinata had blown his cover!

"N-Naruto-kun?" he heard her soft whisper and turned around. Seeing her turn her eyes away on the spot, he couldn't help but think that the exclamation of his name wasn't something she wanted him to hear. Hell, her face was still red!

"Ah, I just noticed someone stalking me in that alley over there" he pointed with a thumb "but he probably got away… damn…" he shivered "being stalked gives me the creeps…" he said to himself as he hugged his body, not noticing the ever so reddening and moody Hinata. It gave him the creeps… nope, that wasn't information she wanted to hear, really…

"W-well, m-maybe I can help you c-catch h-im?" she managed to say among stutters, her brain being blank from hearing his opinion about stalkers… well, not that she was one. She was just 'observing' him, what was wrong with that??

Wait, what had she said right now…?

"Really?! Cool! We can catch him for sure if we are together!" he said as he started dancing around, his spirits lifted at the idea of working along someone.

Above them, Tirion couldn't help but laugh at the scene. An empty, darkening street with Naruto dancing around like an idiot and Hinata fuming from embarrassment, the mantra of the word 'together' running in her mind again and again.

"Oh, tomorrow is Saturday! Think you can help me sniff him out?" he asked, stopping his ridiculous antics (though she thought they were cute…) to look at her with question in his eyes. They didn't have lesson in the academy on Saturdays…

"Y-Yes…" she squeaked out. God, she could easily put ripe tomatoes to shame!

Tirion once more chuckled from his vantage point, little globes of light flickering on each of his fingertips. Who knew that such simple interrogation tricks could work like this…?

Back on the ground, Naruto was currently squeezing the life out of the poor girl, said girl probably not feeling it since she had fainted already, resulting to the blond yelling nonsense in his panic.

"Oh my God, I killed her!! I killed her!!" he looked around "No one saw this… good." He said as he put her on one shoulder and made a mad dash for his apartment…

And thus was the first time Hinata fainted in front of Naruto…

Tirion sighed as he face-palmed himself. Naruto surely was a kid with lots of determination and potential. But at times, in times like this for instance…

He really was stupid…

XxxxX

"I tell ya, this thing is weak!" exclaimed a deep, raspy voice, the sound of glass hitting and breaking on a wall being audible.

"Get me some beer damn it!" he shouted again, the barkeeper horrified at the antics of this short customer. Rare where the circumstances of someone yelling in complaint for sake…

Over beer nonetheless!

Yet having no other choice, the man obliged as he went at the back of the store, intent on grabbing what beer he had in stock, if only to calm down the raging short guy.

Said dwarf fumed in his sit as he glared at the bottle of beverage next to him. Sake… bah! People had no taste in this land… beer was better! Surely better. He didn't continue his thoughts though, as a large hand rested on his shoulder.

"Gorley… how many times must I tell you not to wonder off?" said his companion, the man towering above him for a good portion of centimeters. "It's not my fault! I just go thirsty…" he whined as he pouted in his sit, his hammer resting next to him. The man before him shook his head before grabbing the dwarf from the cloak and starting to drag his out of the bar… again.

Gorley only had a second to grab his precious weapon before he let himself being dragged along, tears running from his eyes as the smell of pure, fresh beer assaulted his nose.

"I won't forget you!" he yelled in final despair before leaving the establishment along with the red-bearded wizard…

When the barkeeper arrived back at the counter, he wasn't pleased to see that the dwarf had left…

Without having paid!!

XxxxX

"Ok… ok… stay cool… stay cool…" he walked up and down the small living room of his apartment, frantic and alert with a towel on one shoulder. Now why the towel was there… he couldn't remember.

"I'll just dispose of the body. Yeah, that's it. Maybe behind the Hokage mountain… If they ask me, I don't know her. Never heard of any Hinata…" he took the towel and wiped off another waterfall of sweat that started taking over. Yep, that's why he had the towel it seemed.

"I'll vanish the body, and none will be the wiser… yeah, sounds good…" he stopped his mumbling as he looked at his couch, the pale-skinned girl still in her fluffy jacket, eyes closed and completely unmoving…

"What have I done?!!" he screamed in despair as he started pulling his hair, not noticing the fact that Hinata had stirred in her sleep…

Tirion only stood at the door of his apartment in his ethereal form. He liked it better when he could see things himself, anyway…

He could stop Naruto and explain to him that the girl was still alive and well…

But that would ruin the amusement of the moment, wouldn't it?

"Maybe if I cut her in pieces and feed her to the dogs…" Tirion's eyes went wide "No, too gross and inhuman." He sighed in relief "Maybe if I bury her in the garden of the complex… no, it will bring suspicions to me if they find the body…" tears started running down the blond boy's face as something finally occurred to him…

He had killed someone.

And that someone was a classmate, the only human that ever tried to at least normally talk to him…

"… what am I? Beef?"

"Dude, you're dead!" he yelled back, still frantic at the idea of having commited murder. She had probably suffocated 'cause he had hugged her too hard… or he had snapped a crucial bone or something! Holy Christ!

Tirion sighed yet again. He should calm the lad down before things went out of hand… you could really expect anything from this boy.

"Naruto, I'll teach you a trick." He said, catching the blonde's attention, if only for a moment. A moment that, he was not going to let go to waste.

"Go in your kitchen and prepare two bowls of that 'ramen' thing."

"… how's that gonna help?"

"Just do it."

Still reluctant, stealing glances at both Hinata's 'corpse' and Tirion's form, Naruto sighed as he walked in his kitchen in order to prepare the bowls. What was he supposed to do with ramen, anyway?

Tirion smiled to himself as he walked over to the girl, his steps silent and unheard, his ethereal form not concrete enough to create any sound in its passage. Kneeling beside her, he let one hand rest on her forehead, said hand shining with Light for a moment…

The Paladin shook his head, his smile turning into a smirk. She didn't have any perverted dreams… but she was already thinking of kisses. Children these days…

Three minutes passed before Naruto returned with two bowls of steaming nectar (at least in his opinion). The blond immediately saw the Paladin sitting next to what he had labeled as a 'corpse', his hand shining with Light every now and then as it rested upon her forehead.

'_How troubling…' _he thought with a grimace _'Such a kind-hearted girl… a marvelous specimen of the Light's creations. But, such a dark past, full of mischief…' _his expression grew sad. He knew it was rude to read her memories, but that slight dark aura that accompanied her gentle form had always troubled him. That Uchiha kid also was dark, his aura a lot thicker that hers. That boy had probably endured worse…

Come to think of it, Naruto's aura was maybe the thickest of them all. The darkness that loomed around the boy's soul was troubling. Yet Tirion couldn't help but smile at the thought that the boy had won over that darkness and kept doing so, keeping true to the path of the Light even before he came here to teach him the holy ways…

He let his other hand rest on his forehead, a small headache beginning to form. The years to come sure would be troubling… interesting people lied everywhere. Light only knows what was going to come…

But, setting the future aside at the moment, Tirion smiled at Naruto, taking his hands away from the girl and telling the boy to rest one of the bowls next to her nose

Naruto did so, and was surprised to see that Hinata actually responded… stirring in her 'sleep', her eyes slowly opening, revealing those pale-lavender orbs of hers…

The blonde stood dumbfounded, absentmindedly not letting his bowl fall and go to waste. The girl though, without paying attention nor to Naruto nor to the Paladin, quickly took the bowl in her hands and grabbed the pair of chopsticks that was set beside it, starting to frantically wolf the food down, surprisingly elegant at the way she ate even at such speeds.

Naruto seemed to be in a trance, before his eyes went to look at his own bowl…

'_Holy crap… I knew it…'_ holy light seemed to shine on his bowl as said food flickered, shining with beauty (and taste) unmatched by any.

'_Ramen can resurrect people!!!'_

XxxxX

'… _where am I…?' _she thought, the only thing in her field of vision being nothing but the steaming bowl of ramen that she was currently devouring. She felt so hungry, and since she seemed to be all on her own, courtesy wasn't something to bother her.

It was a really bizarre situation. Whenever she looked around her there was nothing but a pure white, as if she sat in the middle of nothing with only a bowl or ramen in hand. What was going on was beyond her comprehension, but the warmness that she currently felt only let her worries slip aside for the time being. It felt so nice being in here, so quiet and unmoving, a gentle warmness that was nothing but that. No words could actually describe the sensation, there was probably no mortal able to do so anyway.

Finishing up the bowl, she put it down, the ground seeming soft and fluffy, like a white pillow of nothingness. Gazing around, she noticed small dots of blackness that started to take place here and there, replacing the otherwise pure whiteness.

"**Come, little girl. He is very worried, I believe words of your own might sooth him…"** she heard a rather old, wise voice saying out of nowhere, echoing on nothing and coming from nothing. She blinked, again and again, till the whiteness was replaced with pitch black, nothing and no one in her field of vision, including the ramen bowl.

Seconds passed by before the world slowly brightened…

XxxxX

"Oi, Hinata, you ok?! How was the after-world?? Did you see angels? God?! Maybe you could have all the ramen you wanted up there!!" he kept on bumbling nonsense as the aforementioned girl began looking frantically around, confusion evident in her lavender orbs. The world could be such a weird place…

Then her eyes focused on his voice… then his face… then the distance it had of two centimeters from her own pale one. Kami, she was sure that if she bent now, she could kiss him and say it was an accident!

And with that thought in mind, Hinata Hyuuga fainted yet once again.

Roughly counting, that was number 'Two'.

XxxxX

Tirion was pretty sure that Naruto had never heard the term 'Personal Space' in any kind of way. Face-palming his self once more, he reached out to drag away the frantic boy who for Light knows what reason, kept his face stuck on the girl's, screaming bloody murder that he killed her 'again' and was doomed to go to jail, be hated by everyone (even more) and would go to Hell, things like that, you know.

Stupidity was just a mediocre term one used to express one's low level of intelligence quantity.

Yet Naruto took the term to far higher levels…

Tirion didn't sit around to contemplate on vocabulary as he dragged Naruto outside, leaving the Hyuuga girl now asleep on the blonde's couch.

He would make sure Naruto would go through hell with today's training. That boy really needed discipline… self one being the most. Tirion looked at the sky, seeing that the hour was rather late for the boy to be outside. According to information he had gathered, students didn't attend the academy on Saturdays, these days being the vacation ones once a week, he thought with a shrug.

He was sure that Naruto probably had some intelligence hidden in there…

"Stop! I can't leave her like this! We need more ramen!! It can resurrect her! RAMEN CAN SAVE THE WORLD!!"

Scratch that…

XxxxX

Hours had gone by, a young blonde the only form of life to occupy the dark training ground, the sound of flesh hitting against wood audible across the small clearing, echoing in the darkness and throughout the forest that surrounded it.

His whole body ached, his muscles where strained, his breathing was labored. Yet tired as he was, he was not about to give up. Tirion was very rough when it came to training, be it mental or physical. Even though the old man tended to be gentle, the authority and demanding that lied underneath where the unspoken words of a teacher towards his pupil, the need to see his work blooming into something better.

That was what Tirion sought for in Naruto. A bloom that would be like no other, a child of the Light that would surpass many by far… yet the Paladin knew that his dreams and expectations still had way to go, roads to travel, paths to find. Tirion knew that with the guidance of the Light and his, Naruto would one day rise to be more than any common human would dream…

He would be a good Paladin, a worthy wielder of the Ashbringer one day. That was Tirion's purpose right now. To amend for his mistakes, to repent for his sins… he would make this reality, no matter what.

Selfish as his intentions could sound, the Paladin knew that Naruto himself sought to become stronger, to gain power and prove himself to the world and those that despised him for what he held inside.

There was a saying, that geniuses where always hindered by the narrow minded majorities. Truthfully enough, many wise people in both Azeroth and Earth had achieved things and spoke words that went beyond their age, meeting only the despise of their moderns, finding glory only after death.

Naruto wasn't going to have any of that. Not as long as Tirion was here, not as long as it went through his hand. The boy's training still had ways to go, the mastery of the Light not something to be achieved in mere months…

Yet the promising blonde seemed to be a quick learner, picking up on training much better than anyone Tirion had ever seen before.

Of course, his lack of education and the warmth of fellow humans was something that severely hindered the connection with the Light. Naruto had yet to learn the most basic emotion to control the divine power…

Love… the boy had not learned what it was to be wanted by someone, needed and cherished, be it family, be it his lover, be it his friends. He was yet to mature out of the cell that kept him away from his heart, away from feelings that any normal person should be able to recognize.

Unfortunately, love was a two-bladed dagger, a dangerous yet wonderful thing to occupy yourself with.

Tirion hoped that that Hyuuga girl could teach Naruto what he needed in order to become a true discipline of the Light, to learn how to love and cherish, to learn how to want and protect. What Naruto felt towards the village, what he wanted to achieve… he didn't want to be Hokage to protect the village. He wanted to do it in order to be recognized, in order to be on the top and be loved… In his heart, he would give his life for Konoha, but his ulterior motives where selfish, even if he himself didn't notice.

So that was what Tirion would allow the willing (yet shy) Hinata to do…

To teach Naruto, what it truly meant to love… in more ways than one.

XxxxX

He was exhausted beyond comprehension. Tirion had worked him to the ground within the small span of two hours. Kicking and hitting logs non-stop as well as running around the training ground where exercises he didn't want to repeat too often, even though he knew such was the way to become stronger whether he liked it or not…

Sighing, he dropped his head as he looked at a nearby street clock. It was nearly eleven o'clock, way past the time that he usually went to sleep. He was sure that he would sleep like a log…

Reaching the door of his apartment, surprised he was to hear noises coming from inside. Had a thief invaded his home? He didn't dare the thought of calling for help. They would probably help the thief rather than him. Slowly reaching for the doorknob, he opened the wooden concrete for an inch in order to peer inside.

What he saw surprised him, nonetheless…

XxxxX

For some unknown reason, when she woke up once more there was no Naruto around, the only thing to meet her eyes being an empty apartment, that she was _sure _it wasn't her room in the mansion. If the tardiness of the place was any indication… sarcasm intended.

For some another bizarre reason, when she tried to open the door said concrete was locked and it was sturdy enough as to not break down easily. The windows also showed her that it was a long way down to the street. Even though she was a Hyuuga, she still hadn't learned how to utilize chakra properly in order to reduce falling damage or walk on walls… oh how useful and pretty did these things sound at the moment.

She was more than assured that this was Naruto's apartment, even though the owner wasn't here. His smell was so intoxicating… The thought alone that she stood where Naruto lived made her face flush and her heart race. The fact that she also couldn't escape gave her a bit of panic. Had Naruto locked her inside intentionally? Would he do something to her when he was back…?

She doubted it, the blonde wasn't a person to commit such obscure actions. Nevertheless, she couldn't help the nervousness and anxiety that began to build up.

Trying to find a way to release her stress, she looked around the apartment, noticing the clothes that where thrown everywhere, the dishes that remained unwashed, the floor that remained unclean. Naruto seemed pretty lazy with housework… but, yet again, considering his social status, she doubted he ever got many, if any, visitors in his place.

Sighing, she started taking off her jacket and rolled up the sleeves of the black shirt she wore under it, prepared for some work. She would probably stay the night here, and that was a thought that both made her nervous and excited. It was ten o'clock as it was already…

She would find a good excuse for her absence from the Hyuuga grounds later on. Her mind was already contemplating on the matter as she picked up a few clothes, unable to resist the urge to hug them, fragrant as they where with his smell…

XxxxX

Now forward to eleven in the night once more, Naruto was picking inside his apartment, his eyes wide at the picture of an 'alive' Hinata doing the dishes in his kitchen. Yep, the kitchen was visible from the door. He slowly opened the door more, stepping inside as silently as possible, glad that the sound of water from his sink covered up any little noises he made. Stealth never was his strong point whatsoever…

Silently closing the door again, he tip toed his way towards the kitchen, all the while noticing the absence of clothing on the floor, the cleanness of his walls and floor, as well as the smell of flowers…

Wow… had she cleaned his apartment for him? Quite nice of her, he would have to thank her properly. But why? She could leave any time she wanted anyway!

Tirion's snicker told him something was amiss, but he decided not to contemplate on the matter.

Silent steps brought him closer and closer, all the while Hinata being to occupied in her job and thoughts to notice the outer world. He stopped a step beside her, holding in his anxiety and urge to scare her to death. It would be funny…

Now that he was so close up though… well, it was the first time he really noticed what Hinata looked like. Her skin was pale, flawless it seemed from what was visible. Her dark blue bangs shined in the light of the room, an otherworldly feeling being given off from them, something that was neither good nor bad, something that hang in the edges of absolution.

Wait… from where did these thoughts come from? He sounded like a poet or something!

He shook his head silently, this time noticing the soft humming that came from her throat, a happy and slow tune, melodic in its own way. Her hands where carefully washing each dish, not leaving a spot behind, elegantly then putting it aside with all the grace of a maiden. (**Note: I don't know how much 'grace' a little ten year old can have… oh well, for the sake of emotion?)**

He shook his head once more. He didn't like the way he was thinking… nor the way his heart was feeling…

She put aside the last dish, sighing as the humming stopped, scrubbing her hands in a nearby towel and turning around…

"Hello." He said with an enormous grin when she completely turned around, she not reacting one bit for a second.

Then her eyes went wide… then she noticed that he stood right in front of her… then she noticed his dazzling smile…

Then she fainted.

Thankfully, the blonde was expecting this and caught her before she could hit the ground, this time taking a deep breath instead of screaming, holding the unconscious girl in his hands. As Tirion had taught him today, patience was a key in anything you did in life. Weight a situation, then act accordingly.

With that in mind, he brought his ear next to her mouth, glad to notice that she was still breathing. So she had fainted? All these time she was fainting?!! But why when she was in front of him…?

That could only mean one thing…

In the end, Naruto took another good lesson of a lifetime.

'… _Ramen can't resurrect people…'_ he thought with tears and disappointment in his eyes…

XxxxX

**A/N: There will be a time skip in the next chapter, just to let you know. I won't keep writing this day-by-day, that would take a lot of time ;p I think its time to pick up the pace a little... Oh, and now, an idea that came from a fellow author, 'Arganaut'**. **What that may be? Well, that is the power of...**

**_Omake: WoW???_**

It was a nice morning in Konoha, the birds where chirping, people where attending to their businesses, what else could he ask for? Maybe some ramen...

Walking down the street, his eyes wondered to the various shops and their sales. Food, books, furniture, anything a commoner would love...

Looking around some more, he noticed one store that rose above the others, flashy as it was with plenty of posters here and there. But what was a 'Gaming Store'...?

Shrugging, he decided to walk inside, before one game that was on exhibision caught his eye...

"World... of... Warcraft...?"

XxxxX

Later that night, Tirion returned to Naruto's apartment, finding the boy glued on his PC. He shook his head as he put the grocery bag aside, dressed as he was in civilian clothing. Peeking beyond Naruto's shoulder, he noticed the boy playing with a human, ordering him around to kill wolves or something. That place looked wierdily familiar too...

Shrugging, he let it slide as he went to sleep...

XxxxX

Next morning, Tirion woke up, only to find the boy still on the PC. ' -.- wtf...?' he thought, still sleepy. Rubbing the sleep off his eyes, he dressed in his usual armor before letting a hand rest on Naruto's shoulder.

"Come on Naruto, it's time to train in the Light."

"But that's what I'm doing! Look!" Truthfully enough, there was a Paladin in that PC casting a 'Holy Light' spell...

_' O.O WTF?! '_ sleepiness forgotten...

XxxxX

Hinata walked into Naruto's apartment, a couple of bentos in hand as she hapilly hummed. She hadn't seen her koi for around a week, she was anxious to spend some time with him. Walking in his bedroom, she immediately noticed him and his teacher sitting on a couple of PCs, playing what looked like a game...

"Come on! I need healing!"

"Two point three dps! that guy sucks!"

"Kick his ass!"

"Casting 'Flash of Light', stay alive!"

"I'm trying! Damn it, there's a Warrior on me!!"

"Hammer of Justice!! Hammer of Justice!!" For sencoring reasons, the swearing that accompanied all these phrases wasn't put in the script...

XxxxX

Neji knocked the door on Naruto's apartment. Hinata-sama hadn't returned to the manor in two days. While staying with Naruto for a day or two was normal, casting her responsibilities aside as the heir was not acceptable. Hearing no answer, he stepped inside, the sound of people yelling immediately reaching his ears.

Walking slowly inside...

"Kill that piece of shit!"

"Hit him with a fireball! A FIREBALL!!"

"Oh no, we lost him! Damn rogues!!"

Neji's eyes where wide as he saw Naruto, Hinata-sama and Tirion-sama sitting in three PCs in a row, playing... oh no... oh God...

"No..." he whispered...

All three heads immediately turned to look at him, all of them having red eyes and sacks from lack of sleep...

They all stood up, approaching Neji like zombies... "Come Neji... join us... come and play a little..."

"Do not fear Neji... the Light is here..."

"Neji-nii... come... join the gaming side..."

"No! Stay away from me!" the fact that foam seemed to come out of their mouths didn't help persuade him...

"You will become one of us!!" they all roared in devilish laughter before jumping on Neji...

"NOOOOOO!!!!" he screeched in terror...

XxxxX

**A/N: Not sure if this was funny... anyway, note to everyone! Gaming isn't bad. Gaming like a maniac IS BAD!!!**


	7. Chapter 7: Evolution

_**A/N: Ok, things have been wierd lately and it took me some time to update as it is. Bad... oh well, I'm on vacation right now and I don't have that much of an internet neither the time to sit down and write as I spent everyday with pals here and there, so it's only natural for my stories to be delayed a little... ;P Anyways, in about a month I'll be back in ful throttle as I'll return from summer vacation and stay the rest of the summer in Athens... which is not exactly my way of saying 'Good thing', 'cause Athens is quite hot nowadays =P**_

_**But now, away from my chatter. Hope you enjoy the chapter! A time skip of two years has taken place and new things have arisen...  
**_

_**The Ashbringer: Shinobi of the Light**_

_**Chapter 7:**__** Evolution**_

Such a beautiful day it was. A day fit for a walk, don't you all think? With such pleasant contemplations in mind, Naruto didn't waste any more time in taking a stroll down the forest, following a hidden path he had found a year ago. This path had proved quite useful to him, an escape route as it was for every time he was hunted for one of his pranks. Thankfully, none other had managed to find this silent, small parody of a road, thus it was his. He had made it his.

The dirt sifted under his sandals, the chirping of the birds his company on the road. None others footsteps where audible on the ground, none others presence evident to his senses. Shortly speaking, he was all by himself. Even Tirion had withdrawn this last few days, staying silent and dormant, even when Naruto called to him.

He had grown used to the presence of the Paladin within the confines of his mind. Troublesome and annoying as he was at a few points, the man was a good teacher and someone he could to as well.

The world seemed to be evolving so well in the past two years. So well, that he was almost frightened. He and Kiba were good friends, often hanging around in and out of the academy. He would never forget the favor the dog boy did to him along with his mother a couple of years ago when he needed to infiltrate the library. Small as it may seem, to Naruto, it was a big deal, for it was the first time anyone did anything for him without expecting something in return.

Ok, maybe he was exaggerating a little. Ayame at Ichiraku's could sometimes slip him more ramen than he had paid for, without her father noticing of course. Iruka-sensei could at times keep him after class for a little extra lesson or two. Truthfully speaking, Naruto knew he wasn't the most brilliant of minds in there.

Sarutobi-jii-san was also someone Naruto knew he could rely to. Many were the times that the old Hokage had helped out one way or another, especially when Naruto was hunted down by drunken citizens. While the boy could easily evade them with the ninja training he had at the moment, when other Shinobi joined the chase the matter went to a whole different scale. Such were the times that Sarutobi could interfere and ruin what hideous plans they might have had in mind. It should be mentioned though that Naruto could always give a good chase… slim where the times that he actually got caught.

They where usually imprisoned for a few days, nothing big. While Naruto was a Shinobi in training, the fact that he was still 'in training', didn't make him a true part of the military yet, thus he was considered a citizen by law. Any crimes committed between citizens were never punishable with death, usually being only prison or fees. Murders where another shadowy yet very rare case. Who would dare kill a fellow townsfolk with a knife when he knew that people who could spurt fireballs where running around?

But, through the hardships of his childhood and the harsh training to become a Paladin, as well as what teachings he had to endure through the academy, Naruto was still pulling through, striving on to be one of the best.

With Tirion's guidance he had risen in the ranks of the ninja, shifting from dead-last in the academy to third place. The first was of course, taken by Uchiha Sasuke, followed closely by Haruno Sakura, who was the top female. Everyone knew that the Haruno had little to no skills in the field as it was. What she possessed where her excellent brains (wherever Sasuke was NOT involved) and a set of skills that any average academy student should have. All in all, she was second only for her grades.

While Naruto had that much more of field experience. Not really literarily though…

Tirion had found plenty of other things to do in Naruto's mind, other than having the boy simply study. While Physical exercise couldn't really help (Come on, you can't grow muscle with mere thought) while they where in his mindscape, the Paladin had discovered tricks that could prove extremely useful.

For example, what he called, 'Virtual Training'…

XxxxX

It was painful. It really was. His body suddenly felt so cold, as if all the warmth was sipping away with the wind, leaving a shell of flesh and bone behind to fade away itself…

It was the first time that Naruto really experienced what dying felt like.

In the span of two more seconds, the world itself shifted as everything blurred, he losing the ground under his feet with the sudden movement of the plane.

Next thing he knew, he was once more to that wonderful sunset-filled mountain, Tirion standing before him, Light shining in his hands as he looked down at the boy with grief.

"I truly hope you will never come to experience these sensations out there, Naruto. Only those that don't understand the finality death brings, mock and take it lightly. Don't be one of them." The blonde nodded as he stood up, glad that this wasn't real life. Having a blade through your heart was something he didn't want to experience again…

"You have improved. You stood up to him for more than five minutes before getting killed." He said it so lightly, like getting 'killed' was something that happened every day. It was weird, since he was talking so grimly about death a second ago. He would never really understand Tirion…

In all the other battles, Tirion had stopped the fight and returned Naruto here before he could be killed. But now that he had let him die, even if it was for a second within his own mind, Naruto had understood that this was something he didn't want to live…

"Listen now and listen well lad. Out there, there won't be second chances. If you die once out there, you die forever. Few are those that have the skill and talent to bring the dead back, but those few don't even belong to this world." He was clearly referring to the Paladin's of Azeroth. From what he had learned, Naruto knew that a select few from the ranks of Paladinhood had ever obtained the skill of 'Redemption', a spell that could bring back lost souls and restore them to their bodies. Tirion had said that he had that ability, thus he was able to restore Naruto's life even when he died within the mindscape.

XxxxX

It was common sense that made Tirion take this path. Anything Naruto's body did here would be stored and printed in his muscle memory and his reflexes. Thus, anything that had to do with the brain could easily be trained here. Yet, even though 'Virtual Training' was pretty good for one to take a glance of something, it couldn't compare to real life experience.

For, while the opponents Naruto made within his mind where harsh and strong, they lacked the free-will and power of an individual person. Shortly speaking, they where manufactures of Naruto's own brain, not people.

And people, especially humans, tended to be unpredictable.

Thus Naruto would always need real-life experience, to accustom and hone what skills he gained through his own mind.

XxxxX

Two whole years… two whole pairs of twelve months, three hundred and sixty five days each. He shook his head. He was having such weird repetitions lately…

Falling to one knee, he took a handful of sand from the ground, smelling it lightly before letting scatter in the wind.

He knew this smell… it was pretty unique when you put it next to the common scent of dessert sand. Rising once more, he started walking forward, a cavern visible before him, mountains of sand and rock surrounding the forlorn opening of earth. He couldn't take chances here, the prey was near. His search would be over in just a few minutes…

Inching closer to the opening of the cave, he noticed the wind begin to pick up…

He was spotted…

Drawing his sword, little time he had to parry as a chunk of earth was shot towards him. He stood firm as he parried with both hands, the rock hitting the flat side of his blade, it remaining unfazed to the slightest.

The brown cloak he wore danced with the wind, said element of nature picking up more and more…

Such violence… such power… it would be a good battle.

He stepped forward, holding his sword firmly, the katana shining in the light of the burning sun, a glimmer of destruction in it…

This time, a slew of rocks made their way through the air and towards him, intent on crushing him to the ground, leaving nothing behind…

Too bad, he wouldn't comply so easily…

Slashing rock after rock, he danced wildly around them as he cut the concretes one after the other, cutting them in half or in pieces as he made his way through, not a single one reaching his body.

With a final slice, the last of the flying rocks was not left untouched. He now stood before the cavern, his katana unfazed by the several meetings it had with concretes. It was as sharp and as ready as ever. He narrowed his eyes, gazing within the darkness of this makeshift home.

Home, for not something, but someone, was in there…

An unworldly roar made his cloak flap with intensity, the sounds of something running towards him from the darkness audible. Yet he stood resolute, awaiting and regarding the oncoming threat with nothing but a narrowed gaze.

And there it was…

It jumped high in the air, intent on falling upon him and shredding him to pieces. It's skin was brown, pieces of bone visible here and there in spots that said skin had fallen away, what rotten skin remained the only thing keeping the skeletal body out of vision. Yellow eyes that held nothing but hatred and despise fell upon him, devouring his image, his body slaughtered and shredded again and again in the monster's mind.

It's hands and legs had sharp claws, a piece of green hair all that decorated the head, two rows of sharp fang-like teeth occupying the mouth.

All in all, it was a monster.

He raised his hand…

"**Mind Freeze"**

The monster's movement stopped immediately, the warrior sidestepping the descending body, it finally hitting the ground with a thud. Sighing, the man kneeled before the unmoving (and rotting) body. Checking it all over, looking for clues… for something.

And he found it. Reaching within one of the pockets of the mangled vest the monster had, he took out the object he was looking for all along…

That didn't mean he wanted to find it, though. His finding was nothing but bad news… for him, and the people that he protected.

It was a Sand hitai-ate…

XxxxX

"Two freakin' years!! We've been wondering this hellhole for two freakin' years!!" the dwarf shouted in exasperation. Truthfully enough, he and his partner had gone through hell itself, and yet they had not reached their destination as it was.

"Well, it's not my fault. Who told you to get drunk and attack those guys?" asked the taller, and by the looks of it smarter, member of the small party.

"Bah, he asked for it! No one calls me short! NONE!"

"But you are short…"

"That's beyond the point! He injured me pride! He had to pay!" he said stubbornly, crossing his hands before his chest.

"Well, that was one thing. We managed to escape the prison in only two months…"

"If you had let me take care o' things, we wouldn't have gone to prison in the first place!" the dwarf yelled once again.

"Unnecessary violence is uncalled for…" the tall one countered.

"Oh come on! You and yer' stupid principals!" Gorley complained yet again.

"You should be the one with principals, you're the Paladin you know." He reasoned.

"So what? We can killed in life-threatening situations! Come on, you know these guys where evil! They only gave us bread and water in there!! NO BEER!!!" tears were streaming down his eyes at the mere recollection of the memory. Two months without beer… what a cruel fate.

"Wise decision…" the man sighed, his words unheard to the crying Gorley.

"Well, we also spent six months in that 'Amegakure' place. If you hadn't assaulted that Kage guy for closing the bar you where in, we wouldn't have been forced to confinement…" that, was something that he didn't want to remember either. What was a Fire Mage doing in a place that rained all the time, anyway?

"He called for it! He wanted to take away my beer! And it was a good one!" Truthfully enough, that beverage of Ame was quite good. But nothing like dwarven stout!

"Thankfully, I reasoned with him and he agreed to only make us do community service instead of being executed…"

"Well… it wasn't all my fault! We could have reached that place already if you hadn't destroyed that explosive wagon! It sent us flying miles away!" the dwarf accused, glad to have found a fault in his partner's accusations. He shouldn't speak when he was in fault too!

"It was necessary. If I hadn't cast that fireball, we could be dead right now." The tall one reasoned, slightly ruining the satisfaction Gorley was beginning to feel…

"But your stupid fireball got us wondering a freaking dessert for more than half a year! We're freakin' lucky we found that village there to begin with!"

"You don't have to complain that much… we had plenty of water, my magic made sure of it."

"But I had to eat freakin' snakes to survive! AND THE BEER RUN OUT AFTER A COUPLE OF MONTHS!!" his wails and cries could surely be heard in the distance, as Gorley didn't dare to reminisce the horrors he lived in those horrible days.

The Mage just picked his ear "Yeah, first you drunk all the beer, then started on the water. You sucked two bars dry when we got to Sunagakure…" he thought, sighing at the antics of his friend. For Gorley, beer was as necessary as air.

Literally.

And that was a rough summing of their first year of wondering through the elemental nations. In the following year they run through the white covered lands of Snow country, fought off against countless bandits and missing-nin, fished in the Land of Waves (and with their luck, you can imagine what they caught…), wondered (Again!) Kaze no Kuni, exorcised demons in Oni no Kuni and finally, discovered how bothersome people with red clouds on their clothing could be.

It was weird, really. They had run into some sort of ritual when they entered a cave to escape a battalion of rampart bees and an angry bear. There, they found a small group of people dressed in robes with red clouds standing on the fingertips of a strange statue, a man floating in middle air, some short of energy being drained out of his body and into the statue.

Nevertheless, they didn't stop to contemplate on the matter as they fled on the spot, this time being hunted by bees, a bear and one of those weird cult-members.

All in all, it was a couple of eventful years.

And finally, after all these struggles, they had found what they where looking for. Well, it wasn't that hard to begin with, since what they wanted was the most famous and strongest land of them all.

Ho no Kuni, the Land of Fire, was now within their reach as they walked down the path to Konoha, their final destination in the horizon, they struggling and arguing who's fault it was that it took two whole years to find the place…

XxxxX

It was peaceful here, and he liked oh so very much. A gentle breeze blew, a caressing wind it was, the flowers and leaves of the forest dancing with its passing, the sounds of nature everywhere around him.

Winter was nearly here. The last year of the academy would soon begin. The last remnants of summer where lingering in the air, grasping whenever they could in order to hold on, in order to persevere.

Birds in the Land of Fire rarely migrated, for even more rarely did it snow. The weather was always warm around here. An endless summer dream that knew no bounds in a world that barely knew itself…

Naruto just loved to sit around this clearing and relax, just sit and enjoy himself and the sun, the flowers, the trees, everything. The world around him was just a nuisance, the only thing that mattered being him and nature itself.

There was also a lake at the other side of the clearing… it was here that the river from Konoha ended, stopping to rest from its journey in this quiet, peaceful place for as long as it could before it would rise up in the skies once more to continue the endless journey…

Maybe he could be a poet… at times like this, he could find himself contemplating and thinking in ways that he hadn't before. Truly, this tranquility was like a drug…

A good one at it.

Speaking of tranquility, his mind was aerie quiet nowadays… Tirion was just so silent as it was. Naruto had yet to find a way to call upon the Light, had yet to find the right path to call upon it.

And he just didn't know why! Neither would Tirion help much with the matter. All the Paladin would usually help him with was physical training and combat. So why did the Light reject him? Why couldn't he just be blessed, even for a moment…?

Tirion of course, knew the answer to all these questions. If the boy didn't learn how to love, then there was nothing he could do. Truthfully, the boy had something akin to love towards the Hokage and his sensei, Iruka. But that love was overshadowed by need. The simple need of any human being to be recognized, to exist. That was what Naruto was looking for right now. A reason to exist, a reason to be, and the right way to do it.

With time, Naruto would surely learn how to love and cherish if he ever managed to have more friends and people who care for him, people who would show him that they knew that he was here and would count on him.

But Tirion had no time for that. He could feel something dark rising in the far north of the Elemental Continent, something dark and mischievous…

He feared the worst, but he didn't let himself go that far. It just couldn't be…

Leaving such contemplations for another time, he returned to the matter at hand.

Naruto had to learn how to call upon the Light… and fast.

Happy he was, that the blonde had also managed to make some connection with that Hyuuga girl. Since that time in his apartment, the shy girl had somehow managed to find some more courage in herself and (along with his help, of course) got to get a little closer to the blonde, day by day.

Now she was the most trusted friend Naruto had along with Kiba, Shikamaru and Chouji. Shikamaru had just come along by accident, and since he and the chubby guy where so close, things just rolled their way… long story.

Tirion could see it… from his position, he could see the uncertainty that lurked in Naruto's soul. In the first years of the academy, Naruto also had a few friends… if friends, was what you could call them.

They where his seniors by at least two years. They had played the 'friend' part, only to finally lead him in a dark alley, where he was beaten yet again by awaiting civilians…

And his 'friends', where only standing by and watching with glee.

Such cruelty was never to be in such a small child… such cruelty…

So here he was, amidst a small group of friends. Tirion had read them, and they bore no ill will. But Naruto couldn't know that. Naruto had to learn to trust in himself, not in Tirion. So he had to unravel the strings of fate on his own, till he found more people down the path to lend a helping hand and a warm smile. Tirion as it was, could only guide him as to how to unravel it…

Only time could tell… only time.

XxxxX

After a couple of days…

"Oi, Naruto!" yelled an excited 'dog-boy', his voice full with enthusiasm.

"How you doin'? Hadn't seen you in a week man!" he laughed, slapping the blonde on the shoulder.

Said blonde cringed "Do you have to be so rough? Anyway, I was just training around, nothing big." He said, his voice controlled and steady, nothing like the enthusiastic and out of bounds yelling that used to trademark him. Him, and Lee…

"Nothing big huh? Yeah I can sooo tell." Kiba mocked, rolling his eyes evidently at Naruto's new attire. A year ago, the blonde had dumped his ridiculous orange outfit for normal clothing. Now, this year's attire it seemed, was a little more flashy…

Black sandals and set of white torso and leg gear, probably ordered material. You didn't find such clothes on sales…

Both torso and legs gave off the idea of leather armor, albeit the fact that they looked like normal white clothes, long sleeved as they where. His shirt also sported a hood on the back. A thin orange (you can't go without orange… never) scarf was also tied around his neck loosely, while a black belt made a striking contradiction with the rest of the clothing, along with the ninja pouches and holsters it supported.

All in all, Naruto had changed… a lot. Even though people could say that white was far more of a plain color than orange…

Well, the sword that accompanied Naruto's form nowadays was also an addition. Kiba couldn't remember when the blonde had taken a liking in Kenjutsu…

It was a long daikatana, probably Naruto's height itself. The black leather holster and grip where a contradiction to the shining steel…

Kiba didn't remember Naruto using the sword in any of the spars in the academy… weird. Nevertheless, he didn't sit to contemplate on it as they both entered the academy, cheerful smiles on both their faces after reuniting to begin a whole new and probably their last year of being academy students.

XxxxX

Stepping inside the classroom, Naruto let his gaze search the half-full establishment. Truthfully, everything seemed just so normal that the fact he was the only one gradually changing bewildered him to no end.

As always, Ino and Sakura would fight over who would sit next to the 'last Uchiha', never noticing the fact that there where actually two sits free on either side of him.

Sasuke, of course, wouldn't pay them any mind at all. His brooding probably occupied far too much of his brain to let him realize anything else.

Chouji would munch chips 24/7 as he sat in his sit next to Shikamaru, said pineapple-head never having noticed for all he did was sleep through all the classes.

Kiba would sit beside him at times, other times occupying a random spot around class, chatting with everyone.

Shino would always occupy the same spot throughout the years, stoic and silent being two words that clearly described him, the boy talking only when needed. Truthfully, all of them where an interesting bunch. The rest of the class called little to no interest, seeing as all the other kids came from minor Shinobi clans or from civilian families, their abilities and personalities nothing unique from the whole. Naruto never forgot the fact that he himself came from nowhere, an orphan that tried to rise through the ranks of life with nothing to support him than his own skills. Tirion was just a God-send gift that came afterwards…

He would always be thankful to the Paladin for all he did. Training him in swordsmanship, teaching him healing through the Light (that was the only thing he could call upon the Light as it was, it being the basic form of all Light based spells.), teaching him academy material that the teachers themselves did not, the fact that they needed to 'rent' from the library being common as of late. Generally, the Paladin had given his whole life a great turn-over.

Through the teaching of the Light and Tirion's, even Naruto's personality had taken changes. The obnoxious naïve blond was replaced by a more careful and collected one. Naruto rarely let his anger slip, being able to keep his cool almost at all cumstances.

Tirion could never be prouder. Naruto was turning quite nicely to a fine discipline of the Light, a warrior that would one day do great things… Tirion knew it. Yet that ominous feeling that always came with that idea would never leave him… as if something was bound to happen, something that would shift the balance of the Elemental Countries…

He never let himself contemplate on that matter much. It would always bring a nasty headache anyway…

"O-Ohayo…" said a quiet voice behind him, barely audible in the buzzing classroom. But Naruto caught it… his ear had been trained to do so.

"Ohayogozaimasu, Hinata-chan." He returned the greeting with a smile as his eyes turned to meet the shy girl's ones. Through this couple of years, Naruto could say that Hinata was one person that strived most of all within this classroom to change herself, probably for the better. Naruto was more than happy to be one to help her through it.

She sat beside him, her reluctance in doing so very evident to anyone who minded to pay attention. Naruto did.

He had noticed since long ago that the girl probably had feelings for him. It wasn't hard to notice… he really couldn't understand how he himself had NOT, when it was so evident and clear, like a shining star that shone within a moonless night. Naruto probably used to be an idiot… a big one.

But he wasn't a heartless guy who would throw her away. No, he would never do such a thing to someone important like her. It really touched him that such a girl would have feelings for him… yet sometimes he feared that her gentle heart was causing her delusions, making her pity for him look like something akin to 'love' in her young eyes.

Not that he was any older, at least not by much. Tirion's presence must have been a little more hitting that he was comfortable with… side-effects never where an easy thing to deal with.

Nevertheless, the day slowly rolled by, nearly everyone occupied within their own contemplations, hardly spending a minute to listen to Iruka's re-rolling of last year's studies. Iruka did notice the lack of attention, but he let it slide for today. He wasn't in the mood for yelling, not now.

Maybe later…

XxxxX

It was the first day in the academy for the first years, and the beginning of the last year for the seniors, a time daydreamed over and over by those who were itchy to enter the world of ninja.

Naruto was one of them, and he wouldn't be happier at the moment.

In the middle of this very day, Iruka had called for spar matches. It was time to see how much the students had improved (or slept the days by for that matter) within the nearly three months that summer vacation provided.

The man was pleased to see many of the students having honed their skills or even obtained greater ones. The children that came from Shinobi clans had the outmost growth, having been trained within summer from their families, as was customary. Iruka was bewildered to see a daikatana being carried by Naruto, along with his new attire. He didn't exactly see how the blond could use such a sword. Naruto wasn't tall enough nor strong enough to handle such a long and heavy sword. His body just wasn't made for big weaponry…

Albeit his curiosity, Iruka wouldn't let him use it in a spar. A sword is always a sword, and if the blade of the particular one was sharpened, any strike could be lethal. That was the privilege of a daikatana user. Even though the sword was harder to manipulate than a normal katana, it's cutting power was far higher.

Nevertheless, the teacher kept on the sparring season, curious to know what a select bunch of this year's students would do…

XxxxX

As expected, everyone had a trick up their sleeve. Ino and Sakura managed to end it with a tie, not because of physical exhaustion or severe injury, but because the girl's couldn't stop bickering about Sasuke and begin the match! So Iruka, for his student's and own sake, ended it in a tie.

Shino Aburame had faced against Chouji Akamichi. Needless to say, the plump boy was easily defeated, as Shino's bugs could easily latch on the slow moving pre-teen, making it a piece of cake for their master to bring him down in one hit. But, Chouji's 'Meat Tank' technique was impressive. The power it held was magnificent. If only the boy knew how to manipulate it a little better in order to be more agile…

Shikamaru Nara went against Uchiha Sasuke. It was an interesting match. Iruka, of course, hadn't let the Nara boy quit as he planned to in the first place. Shikamaru was actually forced in combat.

Sasuke didn't leave openings. He was going in for the kill. Sasuke's agility was enough to keep him away from Shikamaru's shadows, leaving the boy open from nearly all sides.

Sasuke jumped in the air, avoiding another rain of shadows that run to claim him, his fall bringing straight towards the crouching Nara.

Shikamaru used a blunted kunai to intercept Sasuke's free fall charge, forcing him to block and giving him time to flee.

Sasuke began a string of seals…

Iruka's eyes went wide as was Shikamaru's. Lethal ninjutsu where not allowed…

The Nara quickly formed the rat seal, crouching and using his technique in the last second.

Sasuke brought his fingers to his lips…

And froze.

Shikamaru panted, his shadow having reached the Uchiha through the kunai he had thrown earlier. Thankfully, he was fast enough to prevent Sasuke was using a Fire jutsu…

He lowered his hands and so did Sasuke.

Iruka sighed in relief as he ended the match in a tie. Shikamaru didn't have a way to bring Sasuke down without harming himself, and Sasuke couldn't move in his own self-defense. That was a sign of where teamwork was needed. These two alone could not succeed in defeating the other. If a member of their team was nearby, he lend a hand.

Moving on, Iruka now placed Naruto Uzumaki againt Hinata Hyuuga…

Genres didn't matter in the ninja world. You can't pick if your enemy is male or female when your out the field, fighting for your life. That was something that had to be learned from early on.

Men _had _to hit women.

XxxxX

"Don't worry Hinata, this is just a spar. A training season. Nothing lethal." Naruto tried to sooth the girl. He knew perfectly well that Hinata didn't like hurting people, especially him. That made him wonder at times why she even wanted to become a ninja…

Nevertheless, it was something she had to do. She had to hurt him if there ever was a step to be taken forward.

Naruto prepared a set of seals…

Hinata activated her Byakuugan with a gasp. Her bloodline limit could activate on instinct, without her giving it a thought nowadays…

Training could do wonders.

Naruto vanished as light seemed to sip from every corner of her vision, a white fog gently settling to cloud her sight. Even with her Byakugan, she could hardly see anything…

That was only an inch of the power of the Light. Light manipulation was tricky, but extremely useful. And that was Hinata's problem here. A genjutsu attacked ones senses, hindering smell, hearing, sight, even sense of touch. But this type of genjutsu didn't attack any of those. Naruto's genjutsus where pure Light manipulations, altering the photons of the sunrays and even of the artificial light in any way he pleased, dissolving the colors of the world and condensing it so that everything would look white.

Of course, that also took away the three dimensional sight of the human eye. That was why Hinata's world was a shapeless fog of white.

Naruto had concentrated his power around her, so the rest of the room's occupants couldn't be affected. He didn't have enough power to affect them anyway… not yet.

Taking a deep breath, he braced himself as he rushed into the white fog he created…

XxxxX

He might have had 'killed' her eyesight, but her other senses still worked sharply. Through much time spent training in this way, Hinata could easily hear Naruto's footsteps closing in on her. She only had to calculate the distance of the sound, the breezing of the wind, the velocity of his attack axis…

There.

Sidestepping, she barely avoided a hook that aimed for her head. Using both hands, one to restrict and the other to attack, he grabbed the offending limp and pushed chakra into where she knew that there was a tenketsu. The jerk and retreat that followed told her that she was successful…

XxxxX

Iruka was bewildered to see Naruto exiting from his own white mist, his left hand inching on one side. The blonde's face was twisting in pain, but the teacher could notice a small smile that was creeping on.

Naruto walked back into the mist…

Knowing that he was out of sight and able to peer into the affected area freely through the Light, Naruto called upon the divine power to heal his wounded hand. In a matter of seconds of muttering, his limp was ready to use and fully functioning like a well oiled machine.

He didn't waste any more time as he moved forward, noticing Hinata's form standing in the middle of the abnormally he created… waiting…

XxxxX

She didn't know why she did it. She always hated doing it. Hitting him felt like hitting her own heart. But she knew it was something that was to be done. Every time one of their own spars in the forest ended, he would congratulate her whether he was the victor or not, that caring and happy grin always there, his careful gaze dancing on her form, his hand outstretched to either help her up or vise versa.

But she feared. She feared that there would be a spar that she would hit him more than she wanted to by accident. And he would hate her for it…

With resolve shining in her pale eyes, she didn't let that thought stay in her mind for more than a second. That's why she would train had, that's why she would rise. She would on the top with him and she would be proud in doing so. She would be the best so that she wouldn't accidentally harm those that meant so much to her.

Strange, what peculiar things can drive ones heart to greater things…

XxxxX

A minute later, everyone could audibly hear the clashes of combat inside the small fog. There was a lot of dodging, if the rhythm of the footsteps was any indication, and surely that dodging occurred in order to avoid punches or kicks or whatever was going on in there.

Iruka was pretty proud of both of them. Naruto had developed much, if he was able to use such a stable and complicate area of effect genjutsu. And Hinata had probably developed as much, being able to stand up against Naruto that much. The boy was one of the best in taijutsu as it was…

XxxxX

Tirion never joked when he talked about training to the death. Naruto would kick his own ass to the dirt in order to learn martial art forms or train his body. Tirion would sure he did.

But all this work was paying off, as Naruto fought against Hinata on nearly even ground. Her flexible body allowed her more agile movements with the gentle fist than any Hyuuga could dream off, while his own training allowed him to avoid and counterattack most of her strikes.

It was more a battle of wills, rather than technique.

Who's will would stand?

XxxxX

It had been five minutes. How both could fight non-stop for that much time in such speeds, Iruka would never know. It wasn't a joke that Hinata ranked fourth in the class… he still though the girl deserved second place over Sakura, for the pinkie was only an inch above her in matters of intelligence.

At times like this, he really hated the ranking system…

Maybe a few spars between Sakura and Hinata would settle his own debate in the future…

Maybe he should also check Naruto's and Sasuke's situations… both boys where perfect in class. Naruto was third only because he didn't have as much time in order to get his bottom-ranking scores to the top.

After a minute of never-wracking silence, Naruto's mist finally started dissolving…

Iruka grinned as he checked a name off his board…

XxxxX

Later that evening, Naruto was waiting in his usual spot in the forest, standing still amidst the infinite trees, the wind blowing around him, the beings of the forest paying him no mind, the grass under his feet shifting with every passing breeze.

It was a good day today. He had began his last year in the academy, met his friends again, talked with them about summer vacation at lunch break, and fought a wonderful, tiring spar against his girl. He minded never to use that term around her yet… it was magical what such little words could do to a human that had fainting for a habit.

He really thought about talking to her about this. He wasn't that much of a romantic, but it could never hurt, would it? It would also give his life a little more variety, something more to do, something more to care about.

And what caring it would be. He held back a giggle, letting only a grin slip out, as he imagined himself kissing Hinata under the moonlight. That, of course, if she hadn't fainted already.

It was pretty amusing how she would faint or blush or stutter… it made that much cuter.

Sometimes, at times that he thought Hinata was cute, he wondered how the hell he began to think this way, and where the hell had Sakura gone from his heart. If he remembered right, he had stopped chasing after her around a year ago. That was when he started hanging out with Hinata the most…

Leaving such thoughts behind, Naruto turned to look at a small company that had began to move towards him. Hinata, Kiba, even Shikamaru and Chouji had come for this day's training season. He knew Shikamaru tried to show he didn't like it, but he couldn't fool him nor Tirion. The 'all-is-troublesome' Nara was actually enjoying this…

He smiled as they all greeted him, the light of the sun a magical bath on their forms, a perfect evening for friends to unite and enjoy their lives… together.

XxxxX

At the main gate of Konoha, a dwarf was swearing hell in Dwarfish as his companion seemed to have lost the ID's they had made in Kumo, thus making them go through a very tiring and _very _boring protocol in order to allow them legal entrance to Konoha…

Gorley would first kill him, then resurrect him and kill him again.

Wishful thinking is every being's right… ne?

XxxxX

_**Omake: If you want a Light…**_

"Tirion, can I ask something?" Naruto's questioning look befell upon the Paladin, he sitting on a couch, glasses on his wary eyes as he read a book.

"Hmm?" he didn't raise his eyes from the book.

"Why do people say 'DON'T GO TOWARDS THE LIGHT GIL!! DON'T GO TOWARDS THE LIGHT!' then scream bloody murder as 'Gil' dies? Isn't the Light supposed to be a good thing?" Naruto asked, imitating voices and playing something akin to ancient Greek drama theater.

"Well, suppose you have an orange. What would you do? Squeeze it right away or put a glass under it in order to store the juice?" he asked, closing the book and looking the blonde straight in the eye through his glasses.

"Hmm, I'd probably take a glass first and then squeeze it." He answered after a moment.

"Good, now, think that a fly comes and tries to enter your juice in order to ruin the valorous effort you put in squeezing it. What do you do?" his eyes where hard, expecting an answer. Naruto started sweating, the temperature in the room having gone up at least a coupe degrees… Fahrenheit?

"I… I…" he sweated more…

"I DON'T KNOW!!" He screamed as he fell on his knees

"I just don't know!! If I shoo it away it will come again, and again, and again, and again, and again, and again!! Flies are a flying monstrosity made to murder mankind! To MURDER my JUICE!! I want my juice!!" he yelled time and again as Tirion tried to soothe him.

"Easy now lad, let's take another example. Let's say that…" he paused to think, or for emphasis, Naruto knew not.

"Let's say that you are sexually aroused. What would you do?" Suddenly, Sakura popped out of nowhere, wearing quite the revealing dress that hid only _vital _points, leaving little to the imagination.

Said girl shrieked in terror when she saw what she was wearing and where Naruto was looking…

"Naruto, would you please be so kind and stop staring off into nothing?" Tirion commented with a sigh.

"His staring at my breasts you moron!!" Sakura screeched.

"Exactly my point" Tirion commented with a nod.

After that, the author removed Sakura in order to prevent the murder of two people (God forbid).

"Tirion…" Naruto asked, finally coming to his senses…

"Hmm?" the Paladin answered, now looking at him.

"What has any of this to do with the 'don't go towards the light' thing?" he asked, bewildered.

Tirion shrugged "I have no idea" and resumed reading…

XxxxX

**A/N: I should apologize for any inconvinient mistakes you might have spotted... please make do and tell me if you see any. I tend to miss letters or misstype words at times -.-**

**Anyway, hope you enjoyed the chapter. Not that many revelations took place here, but I really love writing the Dwarf/Mage duo, by my opinion at least, these guys are fun xD **

**On another note, I don't know when the next TTH chap or The Ashbringer's chap is going to be out... probably will take some time. Till then, please review! Arigato in advance.**

**Yours,  
HoNdeR All Mighty  
**


	8. Chapter 8: Credit to the Heroes

**A/N: Edit Notes: Just a few mistakes I corrected at the last scene. I'll check the whole chapter again tommorow... it's just that those mistakes just made it a horrid sight even for me to read... gosh. No major changes, no need to reread =P**

_The Ashbringer: Shinobi of the Light_

_Chapter 8: Credit to the Heroes_

It was like any other day. Hell, he could say that every single day was like this. A routine, a balanced and easy to get used to routine. Yet something was amiss, something he couldn't quite put in words, something that inched in the back of his mind yet he had no words that could explain it clearly.

That was the problem that Uzumaki Naruto was facing at the moment. He felt like something bad was going to happen… and he just didn't know what. Or who…

XxxxX

In the cold mountains of Snow Country, far to the north, buried under the snow and hidden from the plain view of any mountaineer who might get by, something cracked.

Something dangerous, something destructive, something that lusted for power…

It was beginning to get free… of bonds it created itself years ago, bonds that hid its power from the sight of humans.

But now…

The time was nigh...

XxxxX

"Concentrate… keep your hand steady!" Tirion said, his spiritual image next to the blond as Naruto closed his eyes in concentration. His hands where inches apart before his sternum, flakes of light falling from his palms to the ground like little stars while he brought happy images within his mind…

Tirion had once told him a year ago that the Light chose the ones that would wield it. But that was only an Azerothian myth. Yet Naruto had taken it to heart, believing with all his might in the Light, hoping that the divine power would bless him with at least inches of its power, that it would want him, need him.

And it had. Almost half a year ago the Light had finally touched him with tender, forgiving arms. Tirion was amazed that it had finally happened, after all the studying and hard work.

Naruto was more than delighted, of course. After all, his hard work had finally paid off!

With more exercise and work, Naruto would one day handle the Light as if handling a part of his own body. The blonde was taking steps forward down the right path. Tirion only hoped he would keep doing so.

He had never forced Naruto to learn the ways of the Light. It was kind of the opposite. The blonde was far too eager to learn anything. And what eagerness! The boy was a sponge. His lust for knowledge was only undermined by the genuine intentions of his heart. He really wanted to protect this village, Tirion had come to realize that as time went by.

Maybe his readings where false… maybe his powers where fading. That was most likely… he didn't have a body and his spirit alone wasn't strong enough to keep the Light within. The fact that he could still manipulate it was a wonder. A Paladin of medium skill would have faded away by now…

But Tirion was fighting on. Many times had the Light come and spoke to him, told his spirit to move on, eased him with gentle emotions, reassured him with the tenderness of a mother. But he had denied it.

The Light understood, and left. Tirion was left alone in the abyss of Naruto's mind. At times the offer would still be presented yet again, but Tirion would always deny. There was a time that the Light had asked 'Why?', yet the Paladin knew that it was only testing him.

He had answered with all the sincerity of his heart…

"For I have a purpose that has yet to be finished. I have a role to play here, a soul to guide. Please, grant me your blessing… don't let my efforts be in vain…"

The Light hadn't questioned him again since then, neither had it come to claim his spirit, neither did it help him unless he called upon it. Since that time almost a year ago, Tirion was left to endure alone the hardship of keeping his spirit alive every day… in the midst of training a blonde boy.

Said boy had finally managed to conjure a small sphere of shining energy. Mixing the Light with Chakra wasn't easy…

Forcing his mind further, Naruto tried to find the serenity Tirion had taught him, he tried to find the little Utopia of his mind so he could relax… let the power flow, let it come to him and fill his body.

And it did. Within a few seconds, the Light had come to him… he could feel it in every inch of his body, from head to toe. It was here, it was in him. And he felt… good. That's what happened whenever he called upon the Light… the calmness that came with it, the soft sensations of happiness and safety, it was just perfect.

But he couldn't stay in here. This tranquility was not meant to last long, less he would lose his mind in it and fall in a dreamless sleep. He withdrew from his heaven…

And found himself holding a sphere of light the size of a football.

"Good. Now shape it." Tirion commanded and Naruto tried to oblige. Shaping never was easy…

The sphere started to change, becoming longer, then shorter, then jagged, then smooth…

It didn't seem to settle to a certain shape. It kept changing and changing as Naruto concentrated. Finally, it began to slow down as it started to get longer. Gradually, it took the shape of a sword…

Seconds ticked by as the shape began to settle, the soft light beginning to retreat, leaving hard steel and shining silver behind…

The Ashbringer had appeared in Naruto's hand.

"Good, very good" Tirion congratulated with a smile. Naruto had finally began to grasp the essentials of summoning the sword out of his soul. It had taken some time, it was a procedure hard to grasp, even to Tirion. Naruto was still at the stage that he had to take steps to summon… with time only a flash of Light would be needed for the sword to be there.

"And now, we can begin our training." Tirion's expression hardened as an identical Ashbringer appeared in his own hand, a replica of the one in Naruto's. Both Paladins regarded each other with a grin before their blades began to clash…

XxxxX

It had been like this for nearly two years now. Tirion and Naruto would spar themselves to the ground before Hinata stepped in to stop them from probably killing themselves from exhaustion. She feared that Tirion's spirit would get too weak to maintain itself…

Taken some time as it had, Naruto had told her about his little 'adventure' and the bond he had created with Tirion Fordring, a swordsman from another world who taught him jutsus from said world. As to why he did that, Naruto had just said that he was considered the heir of a great weapon or something.

She knew it couldn't be exactly that though. She was wise enough to understand when Naruto over exaggerated on a matter; the blonde tended to do that. Spicing up stories was his specialty…

But she liked that. It made his antics that much more interesting.

She had been willing to learn to. Hearing about the healing powers of the Light had amazed and intrigued her to no end. It was clear to Tirion, to anyone who minded to pay enough attention at least, that even if he didn't teach her anything about the Light, the girl could still become a great healer one day if she wanted to.

Yet, not willing to deprive her of her wish to study the art of healing, Tirion had let her study alongside Naruto, making it a two-student class and not that much willingly forcing himself to use his astral image that much more by doing so. He couldn't live in Hinata's mind to…

Sometimes, he wondered what would happen to him in the end. Would he simply fade away? Most likely…

Nevertheless, it had amazed him that Hinata had grasped the Light that much faster than the blonde boy. It also probably had something to do with the Demon Naruto hosted… Tirion still couldn't understand the complexity of the seal the boy had, neither what symptoms could a Paladin suffer when his body held a demon, yet his soul held the Light. It was pretty much a very weird situation, and the old Paladin sometimes reprimanded himself for the ways he thought in the past.

He had thought that all Naruto needed in order to be blessed by the Light, was love. But he was wrong.

While the boy had pretty much potential, that was only a general issue. Tirion had missed to see the other kinds of love the boy harbored. His love for training, his love for his teacher, his love for training… all these little things that Tirion had missed and misunderstood in the beginning.

So it most likely had something to do with the demon.

Slim where the times that Tirion would go to the Kyuubi's cage and exchange words or even play some chess with it. But all these times, hell, even every second that he spent in this young ones mind, the Paladin could easily sense the taint of evil lurking underneath the sunshine of Naruto's own soul.

The boy was trapped in a stasis. After having learned how to call upon the Light, after the divine power had blessed him, Naruto still had much hardship with it.

It was the demon. Tirion was sure of it.

But what could he really do about it?

Only time, and a bit of blind, blonde Uzumaki luck could tell…

XxxxX

"Naruto-kun, please be a little more careful. You have to concentrate on the wound and in closing it, the muscle tissue and then the skin, like this…" she said, gentle pale hands now over his. They shone with Light, and before Naruto knew it, the rabbit under his own palms had been fully healed, the wound in its leg now long gone as if nothing had happened.

He scratched his head as the little animal hopped away, looking at it curiously and then at the girl next to him.

"I'll never really get how you do that. My healing sucks!" he wailed to himself. True enough, Hinata was a far better healer than he was. And he just didn't know why!

"Maybe you don't concentrate enough Naruto-kun." She said with a smile, giggling to herself. The blonde's mind always seemed to be a mess, never allowing him clear thought. That was what she thought, and she could be right. Naruto never really put the effort in concentrating enough in the details… maybe healing just wasn't his way.

That was why he was training on a different field. The field of combat.

XxxxX

He parried, the sword ten times heavier under the power of muscled hands that had seen war and strife. Grunting, he tried to push back to no avail. His opponent was stronger, and he was weaker…

When the pressure began to lift he jumped away on the spot, avoiding an otherwise fatal strike. What little experience he had told him that when an opponent withdrew from a parry, it was either to retreat or strike again. He knew that the man before him would chose the later.

And behold, he did. He saw him closing in rapidly, the distance between them shortening by the second.

He dodged the forward strike to the side, preparing to use this chance for a counterattack.

Too late though, his opponent reached out with one hand, blinding light shining before he was thrown away to the ground. Looking up from his disadvantageous position, he could clearly see the man standing above him, the tip of said man's blade aiming for his fragile neck.

"That was a good fight…" he said, lifting the weapon away

"Naruto." Tirion's expression grew to a grin towards his pupil. Naruto on the other hand, had less amusing thoughts about their spar…

He was mumbling to himself as he dusted off his clothes, cursing his luck for losing again.

"You lose all the time." Tirion said with a shrug, knowing very well that the kid was ways before he could actually defeat him.

"That's exactly the problem!" he shouted in retort "Aren't I supposed to win from time to time?" he continued, mad at himself for not being able to defeat an 'Old man'.

Tirion only smiled kindly "The time will come that I will be no match for you my boy. Light knows what the future may uphold. You could have defeated me today, you could defeat me tomorrow." His smile was still there, and it unnerved the blonde to no end.

The Paladin always _had _to be cryptic, one way or another. He could never say things straightforwardly, he could just leave hidden messages or unsounded hints.

But Naruto never really paid much mind to that "Whatever…" he dismissed the situation and picked up the Ashbringer, dissolving the blade in particles of Light and back in his soul.

Underneath the underneath was something that every Shinobi should bear in mind at all times. That was what both Tirion and Naruto had learned from both life and the teachings of the ninja world they had studied.

Yet Naruto didn't pay as much attention to these things as Tirion would like him to do. He kept reminding the blonde about the rules of being a Shinobi as well of being a Paladin, yet Naruto didn't seem to keep any of them at heart.

Many were the times that the boy would be reckless, instead of concentrated and thoughtful as he should when in combat. Many times he would barge out to fight instead of weighting the situation first. Many times he would prefer the quickest path to victory rather than taking his time…

While he had dreams, and while he knew that nothing was impossible when you worked hard, sometimes Naruto seemed to dismiss his very own view of the world. Tirion was fearful, and he had good reason to.

Maybe his presence here was beginning to show its side-effects. Confusion in the host's persona seemed to be one of them. For Naruto just couldn't choose one path to take… he was orbiting circles around the room of Life, not sure which door to open and which way to follow.

This had to be stopped. Tirion hoped that what he was going to do would finally give the blonde peace... though on the other hand it could also drive him rampart.

He just couldn't know…

XxxxX

"Now what?" he asked, or rather mumbled to himself. Nevertheless, his partner heard him.

"What do you mean? Aren't we finally here?" he retorted, amazed at the grim expression on Gorley's face.

"We are, and so are they." He was obviously pointing out the trio of ANBU that where tailing them. The guards at the gate had allowed entrance, but only if they would accept to go straight to the Hokage. It seemed that they where too lazy to sit and figure out what to do, so they just sent the dead weight to the leader.

Gorley didn't like being dead weight. Not one bit.

Even so, what choice did they have? Being dragged around this foreign land by fortune herself (which seemed to be in a bad mood on their case), this little inconvenience was nothing in comparison.

So he endured. Beer could always sooth him…

XxxxX

"… And to what purpose do we owe the pleasantry of your acquaintance?" Hiruzen Sarutobi chose his words carefully. When it came to matters that foreigners where involved, there was no greater power than speech itself. If these two where spies, he would smoke them out, he was sure of it.

Before Gorley could spout any of his currently vehement thoughts, his partner made the wise decision of speaking first.

"I beg your pardon, Hokage-sama, but we are just travelers who happened to lose our passports in a bandit raid. When we crossed the borders to Ho no Kuni, a rogue ninja managed to take possession of most of our inventory…" he kept talking, his fabricated tale much too believable. He really seemed to have thought this through…

"And that is all." Sarutobi had also noticed the man's weird accent, as well as a few mistakes in his grammar and lack of most formal vocabulary. He had used everyday words among what he wanted to be an official sentence. It wasn't hard for Hiruzen to understand that these people weren't even from the Elemental Continent. Probably Westerns.

Amusing as it was, he felt more at ease at the thought that they wouldn't actually tell the difference between formal and informal words. It would make it less tiring to talk.

He took a deep breath "I believe I missed your names?" he said with a small sigh, letting his expression soften as he absentmindedly stuffed away a pack of papers. Academy Finances, he would have to check them again later.

"The short one's name is Gorley Redbeard." He said, pointing at the dwarf. Truly enough, his features more than complimented his name.

"And my name is Poll. Poll Tournquist." He said, sitting up from his chair to bow before the old Kage. It seemed that the man had some affairs with other Kages in the past… it was standard formality to bow to a superior after introducing yourself.

Hiruzen nodded, satisfied at the answer and noticing the grim expression on Gorley's face. He had also taken note of the fact that the dwarf had not spoken a word, at least not in a language comprehensible to him.

"Θα τελιώνουμε ποτέ? Βαρέθηκα εδώ πέρα! Θέλω μπύρα!" he said with frustration evident in both voice and features. His aggravation didn't go unnoticed, even though Sarutobi understood not a word he said.

Tournquist also noticed the weird gaze the Kage was giving Gorley, so he decided to step in yet again. "He's just complaining about beer again, nothing to mind about. Would you need us for anything else, Hokage-sama?" he asked with his head lowered.

The Hokage sighed. He had a lot of things to do this morning, and two Westerns was just the icing on the cake. He would much prefer to go without it…

"Go along. You are free to stay in Konoha for as long as you like. If you desire citizenship, you'll have to talk to me first. My Shinobi will keep an eye on you. Any disruption of peace that you might cause will be punished with immediate banishment from Konoha. Am I understood?" his expression was serious and his voice firm. He wasn't joking about this neither was he giving any openings. The Hokage's word was absolute.

Poll bowed deeply "Of course, Hokage-sama" he said with an earnest smile. After a few seconds, they had both gone out of the door, Gorley complaining in his weird language, probably about beer.

Sarutobi finally let himself sigh and fall back in his chair…

What was next? Maybe a lost business man from Britain barging through the window with a parachute?

He actually dared to glance at the window to his right…

XxxxX

Another great day was coming to a close. And what better finale but a feast in the best ramen bar of the world.

Ichiraku's ramen bar.

The devouring sounds that came from the confines of the establishment let any passerby know that Naruto was in there. Only he could slurp ramen down that fast…

He, and Hinata.

"Next!" he yelled and Teuchi hurriedly passed him yet another bowl of ramen, Naruto stuffing the one he had just finished to a pile next to him. He was counting thirteen bowl and still going.

"Next, please!" the girl next to him also said, in a voice much calmer and collected. Ayame passed her another bowl, a wary smile on her lips. Hinata had already finished her fourteenth…

Seconds ticked by and the small crowd that had gathered around the two was watching with sweat running free on their bodies.

"Done." Hinata said and gently put her chopsticks down, cleaning her face with a wipe and smiling brightly.

"Thanks for the meal!" she said with a bow. Naruto whined from her left, he just having finished his own fifteenth and last bowl. As he kept crying in despair, people around them congratulated both for their effort, a little more of said cheers going to Hinata for being the victor of today's contest.

It was a weekly event for anyone who spent his time as Ichiraku's in the evening. Once a week, Naruto and Hinata would compete on who would finish a certain number of bowls before the other. Who would imagine that such a girl would have such a great appetite? And even be fast enough to beat Naruto!

Sometimes Kiba or Chouji would also take part, Chouji having managed to top ten bowls while Kiba quitting at a mere five. It was truly an entertaining sight.

Both Naruto and Hinata had managed a maximum of twenty five at one time. Today, they just wanted a quick match…

Teuchi and Ayame smiled from behind the booth. Even though it could be exhausting to serve these two when they competed like that, they bore with it, for the little event could always draw more customers to the store. Plus, both kids always paid for what they ate.

Naruto, for his part, after having finished his fake cry of the 'loser', congratulated Hinata with a great smile and shook hands, easily noticing the blush that came over her cheeks at the contact. It was amusing, to say the least, to see how easily he could make her flush.

Thankfully, it didn't occur at all times. Accidental brushes at least weren't a trigger anymore…

XxxxX

"Well it was a really great day! Went to the academy again, spoke with our friends, saw Iruka-sensei, trained and such…" Naruto was walking the girl home. It wasn't that common of him to have such sense of chivalry. It happened on special occasions.

Of course, Hinata was also his best friend for around a year and a half now. He could feel at ease with her for anything. Even though he felt a little bad deep down about her feelings…

He dismissed the thought. Now was not the time.

Not when she was walking next to him.

"Yeah" she said with a giggle. He was also glad that her persona had somehow changed over time. Was it the Light? Was it training? Or was it him? He just knew that Hinata was beginning to bloom towards something more… and he was glad about it and happy for her.

The open-hearted, kind and caring Hinata with a wide smile could warm even the hardest soul. It had his…

He should stop thinking. Really.

"I talked with Ino and Sakura at some point. They both want to know where did you learn that 'Genjutsu'" mock amazement had filled her voice, her immature yet funny gestures an amusing sight to behold. Naruto really couldn't help not to smile. It felt like a dream… a very good dream.

"I had thought so. But who would know that I can manipulate light?"

"I do"

"That you do." They both laughed, at ease with each other and in harmony. The night was beautiful as the moon had started to settle in the dark sky, the illuminating pale light casting shadows around them. A marvelous, yet forlorn feeling altogether.

"Say, what would happen if demons suddenly fell from the sky?" she asked out of the blue.

"Then they would be Fell Demons." They both laughed again at a joke only they knew. Studying about the history of Azeroth was fun to both of them. The marvelous tales of heroism, the intriguing expansion of politics, the epic battles, the hindered alliances, the forbidden dungeons, everything about Azeroth seemed like a fairytale taken out of a book. And they loved it. It was a very interesting fairytale whatsoever.

Even though Tirion never explained much about the Ashbringer. He had never told Naruto the continuation of the story of the first Ashbringer after that day…

All thoughts seemed to come to an end as they reached the gates of the Hyuuga compound. Neither feared being seen. The whole family knew that Naruto was a close friend to Hinata, and none of them had a say in it. Hiashi, for reasons both children couldn't understand, didn't speak his mind about this little relationship. Neither knew why, considering all adults seemed to hold a ghost grudge against Naruto.

Naruto of course, was the only one that actually knew _why_. It just never was in his interest to tell Hinata as well.

He didn't want to lose her… not now.

Thankfully, the seal of the Fourth didn't allow the Light to trace his soul from the outside, at least not without physical contact, and Hinata was too good of a girl to do something like sneaking in his psyche.

So she didn't know. She didn't know what he held within…

He went out of his little desperation to look at pale lavender eyes, which in return looked straight into his, a soft smile on the lips of the face that the eyes belonged to. A pretty, round face…

He wondered if that smile would still be there when one day she knew.

He wondered…

"Goodnight Naruto-kun" she said as she leaned forward, a soft kiss on his cheek. He didn't have time to answer or return the gesture whatsoever as she turned on her heels and entered the compound, leaving the blonde gaping at the spot she stood a mere moment ago.

XxxxX

It was normal for Hinata to hug him, even though it rarely happened. It was normal for Hinata to smile at him or touch him, or even ruffle his hair and other tiny physical contacts that she dared from time to time, most of the time with a gentle blush on her cheeks.

But she had never used her lips as a way of contact. She had never kissed him, in any way and in any form.

So it wouldn't be weird if she currently resembled a red that would put a tomato to shame, would it?

Of course not.

Hinata didn't really know what she was doing. The next thing she knew, she was lying on her bed in her pajamas, the clock next to her pointing at the neat hour of nine P.M.

It wasn't late, but it wasn't early either.

Might as well go to sleep.

Tomorrow would be another day…

XxxxX

For Naruto's part, it had taken him several seconds to realize what had transpired. Surely enough he could still feel a soft, warm wetness on the spot Hinata had touched with her lips. And, surprising even himself, it actually felt good…

Never in his life had someone kissed him in any way. Never, not even once.

He noticed that his heart was beating faster than usual. Was it excitement? He couldn't really tell.

With his own mind in a slight daze, he marched towards his own home. He had many things to think about, now that Hinata had actually started making her moves instead of setting her feelings in the background…

He really had to short out his own feelings before it was too late.

Before he hurt either of them…

XxxxX

Tirion had seen everything transpire from the confines of Naruto's mind and through his own eyes. A weird sensation.

But, the Paladin wouldn't miss this for anything. Both his students could be called Paladins as it was, they could use the Light and do things that Shinobi normally couldn't even dream of. But, he never expected that Hinata would do something like that… she just didn't have it in her.

And behold, she had proved him wrong yet again, as she had at times past, when he had doubted her ability, when he had doubted her skill, when he had doubted her intelligence.

This girl was full of surprises… as was Naruto.

What a match, indeed.

Maybe the world didn't hate him as much as he thought.

Maybe beauty could bloom through an era of chaos.

Problem was, the chaos wasn't here yet…

But again, neither was beauty.

XxxxX

"Are you sure it's here?" Gorley asked. He didn't like the look of this building. It didn't seem steady enough for his taste… oh how he missed his home in Ironforge, a nice, neat dwarf house inside a mountain.

Paradise.

And here they were, before a block of flats, gazing upwards towards a specific apartment that interested both of them to no end. It was the mission they had been trying to accomplish all this time, anyway.

"Of course. Nearly everyone in Konoha seems to know where he lives. Are _you _sure that Tirion is there? From what I've heard, only a little boy lives there, not older than thirteen."

"Bah, if you don't trust me at least trust the Light you imbecile! Of course Tirion is in there, the Light never lies!"

"But men do." He sighed "Nevertheless, it won't hurt to check it out. Come on." And with that, Tournquist moved forward towards the stairs, long footsteps bringing him closer to his goal.

Gorley cursed under his breath. Why did Poll always have to play the 'all-knower'…?

XxxxX

_**Omake: Magic is not for everyone…**_

It was another boring afternoon. One of the many that one could usually encounter in life. The usual stuff. Nothing to do but kill time.

That was what Naruto was trying to do.

Please give emphasis to the 'trying'.

With a book in his hands, he couldn't help the headache that was forcing its way through his skull.

"Hey, Poll! I don't understand this part." He yelled and said man seemed to puff out of nowhere.

"Which part?" he asked, leaning to get a better look. Naruto pointed and the man smiled.

"This Naruto, is a fireball spell. You can shoot a fireball if you can cast it. There are stronger variations of it, even in your world, but this is just the basic." He said wisely, the blonde gaping at him for no apparent reason other than moke amazement.

"Amazing! Then I can just sprout fireballs from my hands?" he asked, hopeful.

"Well, not exactly. Side effects might cause, amnesia, trauma, internal bleeding, bone fracture, mana leek, upset internals, intergalactic war, spilled milk, smashed ant and even cooked turkey. Magic is not for everyone, consult your doctor before use."

When he was done, Naruto had already began casting a fireball.

"NO!" he yelled in desperation, jumping the blonde, he shooting two fireballs from his hands, one hitting the kitchen and he other flying away in the sky…

"What have you done?!" Poll yelled. Looking around, he was glad to see that everything seemed to be fine. Then he spotted it…

"No…" he whispered. Milk was splattered all over the place, probably thrown down ad squeezed when he jumped on Naruto. One of the fireballs had hit the kitchen.

He looked there to see a cooked turkey waiting on the table, decorated and ready for consuming.

His whole body shook as fear overtook him. Looking under his foot, he easily noticed a small ant, already dead from unhealthy contact with his limp.

He looked up at the stars…

XxxxX

In a galaxy far, far away…

Obi Wan Kenoby looked up at the sky, seeing a flare pass before his bare eyes and vanish in space…

"Falling stars are beautiful today." He commented and went on his way…


	9. Chapter 9: Misconceptions

**A/N: In all actuallity, I enjoyed writing this chapter. It was pretty fun, as well as was writing the Omake of said chapter xD Hope you enjoy. Just to be warned, the chapter is unedited and neither do I have a Beta, but I doubt there are that many mistakes that would make it an eyesore... oh well.**

_**The Ashbringer: Shinobi of the Light**_

_**Chapter 9: Misconceptions**_

Wary. That's how he felt at the moment, and it surely wasn't a welcome feeling. He glanced around him. Nope, surely not.

In all actuality, he _needed _sleep. But why would the convenient unconsciousness of dreamland just take him away? Lying on his bed and waiting for something to happen was boring…

Sleep would be a good thing to happen. It really would.

The soft noises of the night where everywhere… were his senses heightened? It wasn't this way most of the time…

Yet again, most of the time he would sleep like a brick. What was different today?

Tirion wasn't playing any tricks either, he could feel it. Maybe he was just over exaggerating… some warm milk would do the trick. It had worked at times before that a similar occasion occurred.

He got up from his bed, white pajamas covering his body with a trademark head-eating sleeping hat on said head.

He just never expected what was to come…

XxxxX

The sound of slipping.

"Be quiet damn it!" a low whisper in a pitch blackness, the voice hoarse and demanding. Burglars in the middle of the night… not the first time it happened. Though usually, they came for something other than his material possessions. They came for his life…

With that thought in mind, Naruto prepared himself for trouble…

XxxxX

"Heh, sorry…" another voice apologized, less deep, like the breath of fire on a wooden log. That's what it reminded him, weird as it may be.

"But isn't what we are doing called 'trespassing'? We could wait till morning…" the voice suggested in the darkness.

"No! Tirion can't wait! We must speed things up as much as we can! Enough time we wasted already!" the hoarser voice whispered loudly to its partner. Naruto was shocked still for a moment… how the hell did they know about Tirion? Where they travelers from Azeroth? And if they were, how did they get here anyway?

Many questions filled his mind yet he had no time to contemplate on them. First, identify the target…

It was amazing how revealing the flip of a switch could be. So drained the two where in their own arguing that they hardly noticed Naruto's silent form reaching for the light switch across the room.

Both parties blinded for a moment by the sudden light, they waited for a second before their sight adjusted.

Needless to say, they both gaped in amazement…

XxxxX

"That's him?" the short man asked, pointing a disappointed finger towards the blonde boy in disbelief.

"That's him?!! I can't believe I wasted so much time of my life for a little brat!" he involuntarily kicked the wall in anger, resulting in a small hole on said wall. Steel reinforced boots didn't agree with lesser concretes…

Naruto's nerves calmed down a little. They weren't from the village, since nearly any grown up around here never forgot to sound the 'demon' word when talking about him. But they where still trespassers, and the damn dwarfing called him a brat!

"Oh, look at the tall guy talking." Needless to say, his words were laced with sarcasm. The tall man next to the mumbling dwarf sighed, making his presence known to the wary kid.

His posture was anything but hostile, laid back and bored as it was. The man looked at Naruto with examining eyes, looking for something, searching for something…

"Kid, could you please zip your pants?" He said after a moment. Naruto blinked once before looking down at himself, a heavy blush suddenly rising to his face. His zip really was open…

With a nervous laugh that didn't fit to the situation and a shaky hand, Naruto managed to successfully close the zip. He saw Tirion clapping his hands inside his head, the man's grin wide and evident. It made Naruto fume with embarrassment, even inside his mind.

"Now, do you know anyone around here called Naruto? He's the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki of Konoha and…" a hand suddenly slapped on his face.

"Fool! Don't you know that it's forbidden to speak about it? Haven't you read about Konoha before we got here?" they had both studied the most recent history of the land they where searching for, thus they had learned more than a few things. It took a few questions around this village however to learn that it was an unwritten social rule _not _to ever mention _that _boy, let alone the bearer of the aftermath, the bearer of what the fourth Hokage left behind him…

"Of course I am aware of that, but if that kid is the host then there is no…" he tried to reason with his companion

"Silence! As far as we know, the host could be from a wrestler to a homeless beggar! There is no way a brat like that could be ένας Παλαντίνος!" the short one kept yelling, the last words spoken in an unknown language, probably ignorant to Naruto's presence by now.

"Um, but the villagers told us about a black skinned man who lives in Rai. Are you sure you had asked about the right Jinchuuriki?" an eyebrow was raised in question.

"Of course! I had learned how to count from the very beginning you fool. It doesn't take a freaking genius." The dwarf nodded to himself.

"But the Kyuubi is supposed to be in Konoha?"

"Kyuu is the number eight, right?"

"Think so…"

"Well, there's the point yer brainless idiot! The _nine tails _is in Konoha, while the _eight tails _is in Rai. We need the Kyuu one, so we need to go to Rai. Argh!" he grunted in his own despair, gripping the hood of his clothing.

"I can't believe I let you drag me all the way here! When our target lied in Rai! Damn it!"

Naruto was really confused. What the hell did the jinchuuriki of Rai have anything to do with him or Konoha whatsoever? "What do you want with the demons anyway?" in between all their bumbling and arguments, they had forgotten the boy's actual presence there. His voice actually startled them.

"We don't want the demon. We want the bearer." The tall one explained calmly after a moment of silence. "It's a special business we've been looking into for years now. Do you know where we can find Kyuubi? People around here have told us about Rai, but I'm not that sure that Kyuu means nine anyway… Gorley, are you sure?"

Naruto blinked once "But, Kyuu _is_ the number nine. What kind of question is that?"

It was the duos turn to blink at Naruto, then blink at each other. "Who's the fool now, Gorley?"

"Don't put the blame on me yer fool! You agreed with me anyway!" the short one named Gorley half yelled as he crossed his arms before his chest in a pouting gesture.

Naruto sighed. These people probably weren't that adept in the Japanese language neither in using their brains efficiently. And, judging by their weird accent, they weren't even Japanese to begin with.

In fact, the tall ones accent sounded weirdly familiar… strange. But they had actually mentioned Tirion's name before… and the way Tirion usually spoke… these people were probably from Azeroth. And the Light only knew how the hell they got here.

He shrugged mentally. Such questions where for later to be answered.

It was at that perfect moment of silence that Kami chose to let a knock to be sounded on Naruto's door. Both Gorley and his companion chocked down a gasp at the sound, the tall man's wary lips suddenly forming words incomprehensible to Naruto's ears. The blonde ignored them for a moment, keeping an eye on them as he stepped towards the wooden concrete and slowly opened it.

"Kakashi-sensei?" his voice easily betrayed his distrust. The only people he knew to be up at such an hour usually where the ANBU night patrols.

The man's U shaped eye gave away the smile hidden under his mask "Hello Naruto. I know, its kinda late, but I was passing by and saw some strange people walking in your apartment. You wouldn't know anything about it, would you?" the man's lone eye peered beyond the short blonde's shoulder, gazing inside his apartment.

"Who? Oh, yeah, they're right… there…" Naruto looked around his apartment in bewilderment as his uncalled guests seemed to have vanished in thin air. But how? He didn't feel any chakra spike, meaning they had not used any kind of shunsin. Neither where they hiding somewhere in the room, the Light would have sensed them.

What the hell was going on?

"Hmm…" Kakashi was looking around the apartment already, closing and opening doors. "Nothing here… not here… not here… well Naruto, looks like I was mistaken. Sorry to have interrupted your sleep." His expression under the mask had changed into one of apology. Naruto nodded, his eyes gazing around his own home in wonder

"No problem Kakashi-sensei. Thanks for worrying about me." He smiled at his teacher and the man puffed away in a cloud of smoke with a wave of goodbye.

Naruto sighed and closed the still open door. He didn't need milk anymore. After all this, he really felt tired…

XxxxX

Kakashi halted his movement only for a moment as the memories of his shadow clone filtered in his mind. His movement returned as if nothing had happened. None would have ever been the wiser about this little moment.

The man's visible eye frowned in thought. He was no fool, he knew that someone had walked in his blonde student's apartment.

And that made him worry…

'_Well…'_ he thought _'now's not the time to ponder, is it?' _his favorite orange book appeared in his hand with a swift movement, the pages open and ready to be read as he began his way home. The deem lights of the street was more than enough for his trained eye.

"You fool! We where nearly caught! If it wasn't for yer bumbling we would have finished much faster!" he heard a hoarse voice yelling from an alley. He didn't pay much more attention. Probably friends arguing about something.

"My bumbling? It's not my fault that you can't count! The nine-tails was there! Even I could sense it! Yet you had no freaking clue Gorley! Make your damn mind work for once you drunkyard!" another voice yelled. It was now that Kakashi's interest was perked. _'The nine-tails was there!'_… he thought… coincidence? Very much unlikely. These two arguers probably where the conspirators…

But he wasn't one to rush. He closed his book… they had mentioned the demon. Now it wasn't only about his student. It was about the safety of Konoha.

A grunt was heard "You know, it's not easy to make out one demon from another. I've slain so many of these freaking monsters that I can hardly tell the difference anymore. As far as I could tell, the kid itself was the demon!" the hoarse one shouted. Kakashi jumped on a rooftop, silently peering down the dark alley and towards the two shadows that shouted at each other. The words of the shorter shadow thankfully eased the nervousness that he felt about being mislead.

The other man said something more silently, probably understanding the importance of keeping your voice low in a ninja village…

Kakashi raised his headband…

And the world suddenly became so much clearer.

XxxxX

"That's why you should train your detection senses a little more… I'm a mage, I'm not supposed to be a tracker. Thank me for being able to teleport us out of there fast enough." Pol said in a whisper. Gorley sighed. He really was thankful for that.

"Well… wait, what's that?" he pointed towards the trash bins. "Something jumped over there!" he said in a loud whisper. Pol shook his head "Calm down Gorley, it was probably a cat. There's no one else around here. Now, we should try contacting the kid on another day. Things are too stingy as they are right now. His friends might interfere at the current time. We should wait for the perfect, moment." He pointed out the last two words. Gorley nodded with a grunt, reluctant to agree with his friend.

"Can we go get some beer? I'm thirsty." He complained and walked out in the streets, head looking left and right for anything that resembled a bar. Pol sighed as he followed, his head shook in disappointment. Couldn't Gorley for once put his brain to use, rather than his mouth?

XxxxX

Kakashi easily jumped back on the rooftop, putting his headband back in place and watching the two men walking away down the street. It was an interesting talk. The tall man had mentioned some weird words, like 'mage' and 'teleportation'. But how had they teleported from his student's apartment? He had found no traces of foreign chakra in the living room, neither in any other part of the flat. No ninja had walked in there, besides him and Naruto.

His body froze for a moment as he remembered how easily the tall one mistook him for a cat when he hid behind the trash cans. That was a small test he had put them in. No real ninja would have fallen to such assumptions.

And that small test, along with the fact that they had disappeared from the room, the word 'mage'… in only brought one conclusion.

Those that came after Naruto weren't ninjas.

They where something else…

But still, without solid evidence, these where just assumptions. He would have to pay attention to this strange duo…

Scouring the bars would be a good place to start. But first, he really needed some sleep if he was to make it…

XxxxX

What was he doing here…? Oh yes, it was the shop he had met his latest sensei in… yes, that was it. How vivid the image seemed even now, after so many months.

It was a bookstore, and he was checking over some comical literature. It was easy to spot a weird Cyclopes giggling behind a book in a relatively empty bookstore. It took him even less time to realize that the weird tall man was no other than a living legend.

Hatake Kakashi was reading a book that contained no material a young one should ever witness. Naruto could easily make out the restricting warnings on the cover. Curious, he slowly stepped towards the man, all the time noticing the glances said man got from other book lovers as he giggled to no one, absorbed in his own world.

Naruto leaned over his shoulder "Wow…" he said, fake amazement in his voice. The contents where quite spicy…

The book slapped shut as Kakashi's lone eye turned to gaze at the newcomer "Not for your eyes kid." He said and started walking towards the exit.

"Wait! Aren't you Kakashi, the ANBU legend?" he asked, this time his words holding real glee.

"Not an ANBU anymore kid. I'm a jounin now." Kakashi's monotone voice hadn't budged an inch as he walked outside. Naruto shortly followed, the books he was searching for now long forgotten.

"Hey! But why would you leave the ANBU? Where you too weak for them?" he didn't try to hide the mock in his voice. He wanted to irk the man, to get a response. It seemed to work as Kakashi sighed.

"No, I just thought that teaching people instead of killing them would be more useful." He said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, still walking and ignoring to look the blonde in the eye.

"Then can you teach me?!" Naruto's amazement and expectation was there even for a blind man to witness.

Kakashi sighed again "I don't have that much time. Tomorrow's the Genin test and there's a team I've got to fail…" it sounded more like he talked to himself, rather than that he held a conversation. Naruto though, was not discouraged by that. Not by a long shot.

"What kind of teacher are you if you can't even pass a team?" he crossed his arms before his chest.

"If I passed every single idiot that took the test, then I could as well send them for execution. It would save time and money..." he still held the nonchalant tone.

"Well, I bet that I can pass your foolish test when the time comes!" Naruto yelled, wanting to make sure that the man_ really _did hear him.

It seemed to perk his interest, at least. "What makes you think you've got what it takes to be a ninja?" he asked, this time looking down at the blonde. The walked in silence for a few moments before an answer came.

"Because I'm going to be the Hokage one day. And with that power, I want to change the world." He said proudly, his expression firm and sure.

Kakashi's attitude returned to the 'I don't really care' one. "To what way?" he asked, looking at a random poster.

"To a world were everyone can live happily. To a world that people won't be judged unfairly, to a world that justice will mean more than just a word in a paper."

"The way we live now is the way of fear. People can't get outside their villages without worrying about being killed. We can't travel without the terror of bandits or hostile Shinobi. I want to change that. I want to make that fear go away." He nodded to himself.

Kakashi's lone eye peered down at the blonde, the boy not noticing the gaze as he absorbed himself in his own thoughts.

'… _what motives… his heart is at the right place… let's make sure it stays there.'_

"Good. Then it seems I can train you after all." He said, his favorite book now out of his pouch and into his hand, open and readable.

Naruto's thoughts where disrupted as he looked up at Kakashi with eyes the size of dinner plates.

He stopped walking "Really…?" disbelief was audible.

Kakashi stopped moving himself. "Don't make me say it twice. Meet me at training ground four tomorrow morning." He said and walked a few steps away, vanishing in thin air with a gust of wind.

Naruto involuntarily snorted. _'Showoff…' _yet he couldn't help the smile that broke on his face. He had managed to make a legend his teacher…

Cool.

XxxxX

He woke up with a start. Deem light surrounded him, probably the rising morning sun. The softness underneath him was probably his bed, a faint aroma of fresh sheets still on it. Blurry eyes opened to gaze at the softly lighted room, noticing his white-full attire hanging loosely in an open wardrobe. He could hear the faint chirping of birds coming from the outside world as he glanced at the alarm clock next to his bed. It was set to go off at seven… and it was still six in the morning.

He turned around to bury his face in the pillow with a grunt. It was outrageous even for him to wake up at this hour, so early in the morning.

Dreams, or rather subconscious reminisces like that, were always unwelcome. Damn Kakashi for visiting him that late in the night… for some weird reason such dreams always woke him up early.

He hated waking up early.

Because then he just couldn't force himself to sleep again, knowing that he would have a bare hour or so of dozing off before he was forced to awareness.

So, with a heavy heart and a sigh, he sat up on his bed, turned off the alarm of his clock and prepared for yet another day…

XxxxX

"Ohayo, Naruto." Kiba said with a yawn as he met the blonde. The ever energetic companion Naruto knew so well seemed a little duller today. He felt a little tired himself, but he always remembered to keep a grin on his face. It helped.

Kiba was smiling back, or at least tried to. "Ohayo, Kiba" the blonde replied and nodded. He glanced around "Hey, where's Hinata? Haven't seen her around." He kept glancing as he spoke those words. Kiba shrugged "Maybe she's already inside. You know how she likes to be tardy now. We might find her inside, come on Naruto!" he yelled behind his back at the blonde boy who kept looking around despite his friend's words. Naruto nodded seemingly to no one as he followed the Inuzuka inside, the bell that beckoned all students to their respective classes sounding not much later…

XxxxX

"You know, I've heard they might take us on a training trip outside the walls someday soon!" Kiba's whisper was excited, going unnoticed by the history instructor. Iruka had a day off today, so they had some Mizuki guy teach them for the day. Not a pleasantry, especially to the wary Naruto. The man wouldn't even let him close his eyes without being noticed… and yelled upon for doing so.

"Yeah, I've heard some rumors too. Maybe we'll ask Iruka-sensei tomorrow." Naruto suggested in an even lower whisper, for once glad that Kiba's wolfish senses allowed him better hearing than most humans had.

The Inuzuka nodded in response, keeping an eye out for their teacher who kept lecturing about the struggles between Rock and Fire in the past years.

They both stayed silent for a minute, each in their thoughts as they pretended to pay attention to whatever boredom Mizuki served in their plates.

Naruto was worried, for more things than one. First and foremost, Hinata would never skip class, less she was ill or there was clan business to attend to. But, if the later was at hand, she would have informed them both beforehand. The fact that she hadn't made him worry. He didn't know exactly why, but he did.

The second thing was simple and complicated at the same moment. Tirion was more silent than usual nowadays, not talking as much as he had in days past and keeping his presence hidden most of the time. It was, what, three months since the last time the man used his ethereal form in the living world? It truly made him worry. Tirion just felt so detached as the days went…

He should really get to the bottom of this. Making sure that Mizuki wouldn't see him and whispering a warning to Kiba, he let his consciousness slip. If anything happened outside, Kiba would be there to wake him up anytime.

XxxxX

The sunset was duller than usual, the bright colors of orange and red now being a deem purple and fading orange with a tint of blue, a rather melancholic sight. It was deeper than usual and the darkness felt closer than ever. A strong wind was blowing, a forlorn herald for things unknown.

Tirion was sitting at the edge of the cliff, gazing at the setting sun, his mind to places away.

"What is going on, Tirion?" Naruto asked, a few steps behind his teacher. The man didn't seem to notice him as he stayed silent for a few seconds…

"My… powers, Naruto, are waning…" he said, not glancing back at the blonde. The boy moved forward.

"It has been too much time that I co-inhabited this body with your own soul. The Light won't accept this. It is draining me away with each passing day." He whispered as the boy sat next to him, gazing at the old man with wary eyes.

"What do you mean…?" he asked. A silly question, but he had no brighter choices right now.

The man sighed "Naruto, you are becoming a greater part of the Ashbringer with each passing day. The more powerful you grow the more the sword is drawn to you. The simple fact that this happens is making my own powers wane. Without full control over the Ashbringer, I don't have enough energy to keep my spirit in the material world, or rather, your mind." He took a breath "I could as well pass the blade to you, my boy, but I do know that you are not ready for such power, not in body nor in mind. I can not take risks that will affect other people's fates, not when I can avoid it. Being the Ashbringer is a greater responsibility than you can imagine…" he turned to look back at the sunset.

"There are two options, my boy. Either I let the time pass and have my spirit lost to oblivion. That though, will leave the Ashbringer powerless as most of its essence is bonded with me as it is. It will leave the blade to nothing but that, a common blade with a flashy design. I could also rise to the heavens in the arms of the Light, but that would mean that I would have to take the blade with me as well. It would leave you with nothing but your powers to rely on lad." His eyes were wary. It was not a pleasant option, not to him.

"I would pass on, and the legacy of the Ashbringer would be finished alongside me. That's something I don't want to happen, not yet."

"The other option, is a path far harder than any you have taken till now. Few have followed it and even fewer have achieved it. Only a select few are select by the Light to bear the gift of being able to bring back the dead."

"I want to teach you, Naruto, the spell of Redemption."

XxxxX

"Hey… hey, Naruto! What's going on man?" Kiba's worried whisper was about to turn to a yell. Thankfully, Naruto returned to consciousness before something like that occurred.

"Kiba! Naruto! What's going on there?" Mizuki's anger was clear, but that didn't seem to budge Naruto's smile one bit.

"Answer my question, Naruto. Who signed the peace treaty between Fire and Rock on behalf of the Kages?" a satisfied smirk was on his face. Naruto didn't seem to be bothered by that either.

"Hikari Hotomo was the ambassador from Rock, while Kizuki Sarane was the ambassador of Fire. The treaty was signed at the borders of Rock and Fire, having a civilian village from each country participate in the occasion and in the festivities that took place afterwards." His words where sure and ready, as if he had prepared just for that question all along, not budging and not missing a word. Both his and Kiba's grins had risen to their ears as Mizuki stood speechless. He could do nothing to oppose the blonde now, like he did in years past. He had answered the question perfectly right, putting along details that there was no need to be learned in the first place. It would be shameful for him to kick out a good student…

With his ears fuming, he turned around, not even bothering to congratulate the kid. Naruto didn't need any words. Mizuki's reaction was more than rewarding.

"So, what happened in there?" Kiba whispered when their teacher went to torture another boy on the opposite rows.

Naruto flashed his grin at him "Something really good." His voice barely contained his glee.

XxxxX

What was he doing really? Did he actually hope for Naruto to learn that spell in the limited time that was at hand? The situation was already beginning to get dangerous, and Tirion had an irking feeling that if the Ashbringer vanished, so would this world. He didn't know why, but years of connection with the Light have made his senses sensitive, very sensitive. He could sense each and everyone who carried the Light in this world without even trying. There was Naruto, Hinata, and some dwarf named Gorley who traveled around looking for him. He had seen the dwarf last night and he could only guess what his reasons where for searching for him in this land. Unfortunately, he no longer commanded enough power to manifest himself. Kakashi's interruption was also part of the trouble.

But back at the situation at hand, it had taken the most excellent Paladins he ever knew at least ten years to learn 'Redemption'. It was a spell that required perfect attunement with the Light and with one's self. Bringing back the dead is no easy task…

He knew thought that Naruto was the kid of miracles. Anything Tirion would try to teach him, Naruto would have it down within weeks or months at most. He was an excellent student when he wanted to be one. He had grown in power since the first time he was touched by the Light. He was a Paladin in all rights now. A new one, but still a Paladin.

His time was counted… with some struggle, Tirion had around a year or two of life as it was. The side-effects of his weakness would stop deepening in a few days, but when his time would be nigh, he doubted he could even keep the mindscape in the form of a sunset. He had noticed himself that it was getting duller as it was…

He was putting all his hopes in that kid. His own and maybe of many others…

XxxxX

In a land far away, in the snowy peaks of the north, a lone man walked through the freezing tundra, the weather not a bother to his armor and heavy cloak. His hood concealed his face as the screaming snowstorm danced around him wildly. His heavy footsteps could not be heard as the forceful wind that blew hid all noise other that its incoherent screams.

Yet the man couldn't hear them, or rather, they didn't bother him enough for him to stand and listen. He was already listening, to voices that lied within…

'_I love no one… love is only an illusion…' _the voice said within his head, the echoes of words spoken in times past. He remembered those words, it was as clear as day to him…

They were the words of his father, or at least, what had remained of him at that day.

'_You will die… and serve the master forever!' _he had risen his blade, he had risen the corrupted Ashbringer and prepared to land the final blow when he had managed the courage to strike back a fatal wound. Yet his words had hit reality… he had died, in the service of the Light, he had fallen and was risen again as one of them… one of the undead.

He had wielded the corrupted Ashbringer, he had brought doom and destruction in his name… but no more…

'_You have taught me my child, that even in the darkest of hours, hope is never lost…'_ with that the spirit of his father had passed on in the wings of the Light, words that he should have never heard yet he did. He was lost in the abyss, he had fallen in the darkness, yet now, he was free. He and his brothers where free…

But their mission had yet to come to an end. Their purpose was not yet completed. And he would not rest less it was.

The Lich King was still alive somewhere within this world. He had abandoned Azeroth in the flames of doom in order to conquer other worlds. But the Ebon Blade had not fallen, it had stood firm and true to its motives.

Darion Mograine raised his piercing teal eyes to the dark sky that hung above.

One day, the Lich King would fall, and Azeroth would once again be free…

XxxxX

**OMAKE**

It was yet another beautiful day in Konoha. Naruto along with Kiba and Hinata sat before a river, both boys in contest as to whom would catch the most fish. Hinata sat a way behind them, a grill next to her ready for anything that came on. She wore one of those fancy long cooking hats and an apron, along with a fluffy glove in one hand and a spatula in the other. A rather cute sight one could say.

"Come on… come on!" Naruto murmured loudly to no one in particular as he struggled to put the lure on his pole.

"Hah! I got another one!" Kiba was fishing bare handed, with his legs knee-deep in the water and a bunch of fish sitting the river bank.

Hinata congratulated him loudly and jumped in the air with joy. More fish, more food. And she knew how bottomless they both could be.

"Got it!" Naruto said with a wide grin and drove his fishing pole back, preparing to launch a full scale assault on the river.

The attack began.

"Eep!" a yelp was heard from behind them yet it went unnoticed as Naruto threw a cooking glove in the river. He didn't notice that either as he kept glaring at the eyesore that was Kiba's pile of fish.

He immediately felt a pull on his own fishing pole and a glitter immediately found its way on his eyes. He reeled it immediately, his hand a blur as it turned and turned.

"Wow…!" he gaped in amazement at his own catch… the thing was huge!

"Salmons are overgrown this year!" he laughed and tossed the fish aside to where was supposed to be his own pile. Hinata was about to complain about him using her clothing when he reared the pole back again…

"Eep!!" this time, a fishing hat came by.

"Haha!" he laughed as another salmon got the bate.

"Eep!!!" an apron flied in the water.

"Hey look! I found Nemo!" an orange white little fish glittered among the dull colors of the other fishes in the pile.

"Eep!!!" it sounded like a screech, but on a deaf man's door, all you want you can knock… the spatula was next.

"Hey look! I found Nemo's father!" Another orange fish.

"Eep!" a pair of… panties? O.o (sensor!)

"Hey look! I found… Neji? Wtf?" O.O Naruto gaped as said boy seemed to hung from his pole, chewing madly on the hanging cloth.

Hinata, for her part, had hidden herself whole behind a rock, trying to retreat as deeply as she could within her jacket.

"Aaaaar!!!" the Hyuuga yelled and looked madly around.

"Catch him! His flames of youth are burning too brightly!" Lee came out of nowhere, rushing for the crazed with a Konoha Senpu. Neji's agile reflexes saved him as he dodged and run for the trees, intent to find yet another panty that was on the loose.

Lee's Senpu on the contrary, found another mark as it hit Kiba's pile and sent the fish flying in the sky. Kiba gaped in disbelief while Naruto laughed till he was rolling on the ground.

"Yosh! Gomen Kiba-kun, but I can't apologize as I have to stop Neji from harming anymore innocent clothes!" and with his flames of youth burning like a forest fire, he took off yet again…

Kiba kept looking at the sky, maybe hoping for the fish to rain down upon him or something…

As Naruto laughed, he failed to notice the still alive salmons that hopped back in the river, escaping from the fiery grasp of the grill.

When he stopped, he found Kiba still looking at the sky with his mouth open in disbelief, Hinata hiding behind a huge rock, blushing like mad and unable to show herself, and his own pile of fish being reduced to two Nemos.

"… Crap…"

XxxxX

**In Konoha**

Sasuke was having yet another quiet walk around a lone district near the walls. It was always peaceful here, and he liked it so very much. It was an escape from the world of madness that was his life. He actually felt a little hungry right now, and some fish sounded really good at the moment. He licked his lips silently at the idea. Maybe he could find a… salmon on the street?

A salmon lied before him on the pavement. Moments later, another salmon fell right next to him. And another fell a few ways in front of him as well.

Next thing he knew, salmons kept falling from the sky like a rainy day of January.

He looked up at the sky.

"Can I have some pork too?"

XxxxX

**A/N: "Sigh" yet another one done. Your opinions are welcome as always.**


	10. Chapter 10: A World of Doubt

_**The Ashbringer: Shinobi of the Light**_

_**Chapter 10: A World of Doubt**_

"It's been a year since you came here, Darion…" the old man that spoke sat behind a low table, sipping his tea slowly with eyes closed, his ears easily recognizing the sound of a door opening and closing, the familiar echo of steel steps on a wooden floor more than audible.

"I've told you countless times; Leave your shoes at the entrance before stepping inside!" he scolded. The man that now towered before him shook his head, gathered snow scattering on the floor. His whole gear seemed to be covered on the white substance.

He nodded "Gomenasai Rikou-sama, but some habits are hard to break." His voice was neutral, though a hint of boredom covered it. He had heard the same scolding time and time again…

It wasn't easy to keep yourself clean and neat when you had lived _for years _in a place that the dead _literarily _lurked around. With ghouls and skeletons and death knights walking around, the Ebon Hold was hardly a clean place.

But that was in the past. He was here for over a year and he had yet to really adapt. He actually liked the cold climate of this land, it reminded him of how his life was. A soul frozen within a body, without a way out, without a chance to redeem itself.

But that was no excuse. He would strive on till his goal was reached.

The old man named Rikou sighed as he put down his cup of tea "How did your patrol go…?" he asked, not actually expecting an answer.

He didn't miss the furrow that came on Darion's eyebrows though…

The man didn't answer as he took off his heavy, furry cloak and set it neatly on a drawer. Next went the heavy armor he wore, taking it out piece by piece and putting them in the same drawer. He opened the lower part of the chest of drawers and took out a black yukata and black long pants, wearing them on the spot along with a pair of sandals.

Rikou waited patiently, sipping his eat as Darion finished changing. It always went like this, Darion would never begin a conversation while being in his armor. At least not a serious one.

It was easy to learn the first steps of tardiness. All he had to do was take care of his armor, not leaving it scattered around and being dressed like a human while being in the house. It had taken him some time to learn the traditions of this foreign land… he was just glad that he had grasped their language easily enough. Japanese wasn't supposed to be easy for most.

"I have ill news…" the death knight said with a sigh, sitting before Rikou, teal eyes meeting furrowed brown ones

Rikou was not that much of an old man. His hair was mostly a jet black color with spots of grey here and there, not a hair falling in his face. He also cultivated an edgy beard on his chin. Maybe in his forties or fifties he was…

Darion on the other hand looked much younger, if only kind of paler. His skin was the pale of the moon, his eyes a shiny teal color, his hair a dull shade of gold. His body was muscular and well build, even though technically he could be considered 'dead'.

"Speak on." Rikou set his cup on the table, crossing his hands before him.

"I have the suspicion that something dangerous lurks out there… earlier today, I found an undead…" both sets of eyes where worried, Rikou at the news and Darion at the fact that an _undead _was actually around. Rikou had learned from the first days of Darion's stay about his past and from where he came from, what he was and what he had been, what he wanted to be and what his purpose was in this cursed life.

"Are you sure?" he couldn't help himself asking.

He nodded "It was nothing special, a mere ghoul that happened to wonder aimlessly in the tundra. It was not controlled, so I took over it easily."

It was Rikou's turn to nod. He had also learned that death knights had the ability to command lesser undead. A ghoul was nothing special.

"Thankfully, he was still freshly corrupted, so his memories where mostly intact. It seems that he had just chosen the wrong food to eat…" his eyes betrayed the uneasiness and worry that he dared not show in his whole face.

"It was at an old bar not far from here… the beef wasn't of the best quality. When he was on his way home that same night, he felt incredible pain from inside. He had hid in an alley within the village and there he waited for doom to take him. Not long after, he had rotten to the ghoul he is now." Darion shook his head

"I can only imagine how many others where infected by that food. We have to take action immediately, Rikou-sama." Rikou nodded, taking one last sip of his tea. If things like this where beginning to happen, he only feared for the fate of everyone. Food diseases were easy to spread, maybe too easy, especially when the food wasn't checked or the disease was unknown.

In this case, they had both. Rikou himself shuddered at the idea of undead lurking around the streets of the Snow Village, killing innocent people whenever they found them.

He was pretty sure that the Shinobi could easily deal with them, if they where smart enough to avoid close quarters. But that didn't mean that they would stop it from spearing as well…

Darion, on the other hand, had much more worrisome thoughts in his mind…

It felt as if a situation that had taken place a long time ago, in the now ruined kingdom of Lordaeron, was about to reprimand itself yet once again.

The Scourge had returned…

XxxxX

It felt nice to be up here… here, on the top of the small world he called home. The wind would always be a crude, cold breeze in the morning, a gentle caressing wind in the evening and a low, subtle whistle in the darkness of the night. The birds would slowly begin their songs when dawn came along, and they would carry this routine out until night befell again.

That was how nature made its circle atop the Hokage monument. That was where Naruto loved to relax the most, when troubled days came to an end or a stressing time was at its beginning. It was the place where he could share his troubles with the diseased Kages. At least it felt like it. It felt as if the wind was their very breath that they left here to guard this world in the absence of their physical form. And that wind could hear, it could understand, it would be there for him, every passing that the world rolled by.

So there he sat within his not so tranquil thoughts, worried and nervous. It had been a week or so since the last time he spoke with Tirion and the Paladin had yet to talk to him again.

He… felt sad, maybe empty altogether. What would happen if he went away? What would happen if the carrying form of that warrior vanished to the heavens?

He didn't want to think like that. It hurt to think like that. Losing Tirion felt like losing the world for him. It had been only two years, but these two years where the best of his life till now.

For every struggle that he went through, for every curse, hateful strike, glare, for every time that he was hurt or abandoned, for every time that his friends simply could not be there, Tirion was. He would consol him, tell him everything was alright, sooth his soul and let him feel happy again. It was as if the Paladin could drain all the pain away. Tirion was his personal pain-killer… his father…

'_But how can you tell me that everything will be alright now, Tirion…?'_ he thought to himself, gazing down at the darkening streets of Konoha, the illuminating sunset there to meet his gaze as it dove slowly behind the horizon.

How could everything be alright? Tirion's lone chance to live was for Naruto to learn the hardest of spells within the arsenal of a Paladin. A spell that could bring back the very dead, it was.

How was he supposed to do that? How was he supposed to resurrect him? Even Tirion had taken years to master it! How long would it him…?

A wind blew by, fierce and strong. Naruto felt his face being cold, very cold. Was it tears? Had he began crying again…?

No, he shouldn't cry. He mustn't cry. Now was not the time to sit in the back and sulk. He would have plenty of time to do that if he failed in his task.

But he didn't like crying. He hated crying. And that was why he would not let himself fail. Where had the determination and faith that marked him a couple of years ago had gone? Where had the confident and smiling Naruto gone?

He was still here, he was still waiting. The Naruto that believed that nothing was impossible as long as you strived for it, the Naruto that knew that through hard work you could accomplish anything. The same Naurto that managed to earn the blessing of the Light a year ago, the same Naruto that had made Hinata, Kiba, his best friends.

That was the Naruto that he needed right now. That was the Naruto that would make the impossible a mere word in an old dictionary.

He sat up from his sitting position and rubbed a palm across each eye. Now was not the time to cry, now was the time to work.

And work he shall.

XxxxX

So yet another week past and Naruto had set himself head over heals in his quest to save the life of the man he thought as a father figure. Hinata had known about the situation from the first day that it was set on Naruto's mind. Her tracking abilities with the Light were quite exceptional, unlike the blonde's. That also included her being able to read his mind through the Light even from afar. A useful trick, one could say.

Kiba on the other hand had to be informed on the situation. The boy was always more like a brute front-line fighter, so he had never adopted the ways of the Light not even to the slightest. His family techniques where more suited to his style whatsoever.

Naruto for his part had began working on the spot when Tirion managed to convey the first step to him. The situation though was nothing like an easy one, since the boy had to keep up with both his academic studies and the harsh training Tirion's plan required.

The first step was simple. He had to gain enough attunement with the Light so that he would be able to perform high-class techniques.

Well, it was simple, in theory at least. Tirion wasn't here to help, the man was saving all his strength in order to preserve his soul as it was. He had no energy to spare.

Just how was he supposed to increase his power, anyway?

XxxxX

"Another round meaty! Berb…" yelled a slurry voice, among the other similar ones within the drinking cottage. The barman didn't take long to bring yet another bear to his short customer, who seemed to consume the beverage as if it was water.

The other man beside him though, hadn't had even that simple mineral to drink yet.

The sober man sighed. Gorley always was like this, drinking until his belly was full or their wallet was empty. Usually, the later occurred first.

But at the moment, that was the last thing Pol was worried about. So many things to do and yet so little time…

Gorley was a drunkard and not the brightest in the bunch, but he knew he could trust his senses. If he said that Tirion was there, then he was. But how could they actually get near the kid? He wasn't mistaken in his thoughts that many powerful people within this village protected him. The man that had visited his apartment last night, that was Hatake Kakashi, a legend within the elemental continent for his battle prowess and cunning ways of combat. Considering the way ninjas fought, Pol seriously believed he stood a chance against him though. But he also knew that mistakes in this world, mistakes in combat, could mean certain death.

He chuckled. Azeroth and the Elemental Continent didn't differ that much…

Another man that favored the kid was the Sandaime Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi. Neither was he someone to be trifled with. There where whispers all around the village talking about their Hokage aiding the demon, or others that spoke of Sarutobi as a guardian, one that spent time with the demon-child only to gain information, to make sure that the Kyuubi was in check.

Pol had seen the man. He had heard him talk and converge with various people. It was at times like this that he actually found scrying useful…

Anyway, the man most likely held no ill or ulterior motives. He had even seen him talk to the demon, aka Naruto. It seemed more like a grandfather-grandchild conversation more than anything.

How can a question about tobacco hint world domination, anyway?

He sighed again, this time in annoyance. He was here again, keeping an eye on their back as usual. And it was _really _just _one _eye. Kakashi usually had his other one hidden…

The man's efforts where worth a title. He hadn't let them off on observation since that night, not for more than a couple of hours at least.

Pol would have to confront him soon…

Giving the short man next to him a glance, Pol also knew that he shouldn't hope for Gorley to help…

XxxxX

"What to do… what to do… so many things to do… damn it…" his quiet contemplation remained uninterrupted as he sat yet once again on the monument of the Kages. It was always the best place to think, it was the best place for both his body and mind to relax…

He lied down on the soft grass, looking up at the sky and wondering what there was for the future to behold. It was his last year in the academy and it was nothing but eventful. Hinata had yet to appear on the map, withdrawn in her clan's compound as she seemed to be lately. He had tried to communicate with her through the Light, but no answer had come. Was she avoiding him? It could be so. Unsettling as the idea was, it was still a possibility.

He grunted. So many things were there to occupy his mind. There where times that he really missed the naivety that trademarked his former self. Life seemed so much easier back then…

He grunted again. Now he sounded like an old geezer. He was twelve years old damn it! He still had his whole life set before him. Considering the health attributes the demon gave him, he could as well live for another ninety years or something without trouble.

Leaving such thoughts aside, he slowly sat up, preparing to head down the village of Konoha. Maybe he could ask Kakashi for some advice…

He had to save Tirion. No matter what.

XxxxX

But thus arises the solution, thus arises the problem.

Where the hell would he find Kakashi anyway?

As far as he knew, the pervert could be lingering around any part of Konoha, one of his prized books in hand. And Konoha was no small village…

He sighed, walking down the street and keeping his eyes peeled for any spiky silver hair. There where a few people that indeed had that hairstyle and color, but none of them was a porn-reading Cyclops.

Sometimes, Naruto really wondered about Kakashi's manhood… he had heard that those that read porn are usually sex-deprived or homos.

He shook his head. He didn't like thinking about such things. It made him feel weird.

Aside from that, his search seemed to be fruitless even after a couple hours of aimless wondering. Now sitting on a bench and taking a deep breath to clear his mind, Naruto contemplated on all the places Kakashi had mentioned he had interest in.

He grunted when nothing came to mind. Kakashi rarely spoke of his habits. If one asked he could always shake him off with a 'Did you say something?' or lie.

Naruto couldn't help but snort. Kakashi was an awful liar, but that didn't mean that he spoke the truth either.

He just wished there could be a quick way to find him…

His eyes blinked twice as a solution finally revealed itself. If it was possible for a light bulb to light above his head, then it would have.

Hinata! How could he not have thought about that earlier?

But… there was a problem. Hinata was truthfully the solution, granted he actually found her. The girl had been lost for some time now and when he had gone to visit her at the Hyuuga compound, he was rejected entrance on first sight. As if they wanted to keep him out for good. But that couldn't be… there where plenty of times in the past that the Hyuuga's, even if begrudgingly, had granted him passage within the grounds of their home.

He shrugged. Kiba and Akamaru could help out too. Their smelling abilities were one of a kind, even within the ranks of the Inuzuka.

XxxxX

"I told yer' bastard, I'm finesh… berb… I cansh walk straight alrighta!" the short man wobbled left and right, a happy-fool's smile on his face and a big mace swinging in his hands.

Pol had to dodge twice in order to avoid having his head crashed. For the sake of the bystanders too, he even had to disappear Gorley's mace…

They had entered a quiet neighborhood as it seemed. No one wandered the streets yet there was still plenty of time before dusk settled.

Well, no one except for them, and a certain Cyclopes.

Sighing, Pol slowly opened his mouth and began chanting in quiet whispers, for once glad that Gorley's incoherent yells could cover his casting.

He raised a hand and grabbed Gorley by the hood, dragging him in an alley.

XxxxX

Kakashi finally closed his book as the observation seemed to get a little more interesting now. The suspects had suddenly entered an alley, probably unaware to being followed. The dwarf's shouting had also seized. It was suspicious, in the least.

He carefully uncovered his Sharingan… those two didn't seem strong to begin with, but experience told him that silent rivers where something to be afraid of. (It's a Greek saying, at least…)

Though, even with all his reflexes and his special eyesight, he couldn't help but be surprised, shocked still, as the man he observed was waiting him at the corner, had extended and palm pointing at him…

Next thing he knew, all was black.

XxxxX

His heart was racing. It surprised even him. He had faced countless battles with every beast or human one could dream of. Yet here he was, in a foreign world, trying to trick an elite shinobi.

And he had managed it. Even though he had to finally shut Gorley up with a silencing spell, he managed it. Now… to take care of things.

He crouched down, easily picking up the seemingly harmless sheep that stood on the ground, gazing off into nothing. It slowly began to look around, walking upside down and doing circles around itself.

Pol held himself from laughing. This spell was one of his favorites…

Keeping his laughter in check, he grabbed the sheep under one hand and dragged a mumbling Gorley closer with another. A few words where whispered before all three vanished in a flash, nothing left behind to evidence their presence…

XxxxX

Naruto was awfully perplexed. One moment, he thought he saw Kakashi walking inside an alley, his Sharingan exposed. Yet when he turned to look into the alley himself, there was absolutely nothing left for him to gaze at rather than trash cans.

Was he hallucinating? Had the stress of these past few days driven him crazy? Grunting at himself for thinking like that, Naruto turned around and started walking down the street again.

Yep, probably his fantasy. Nothing more.

XxxxX

"Hey Kiba! You there?!" Naruto was actually pounding on the boy's door, a not so usual sight to behold by anyone who knew his new self well enough.

A grunting and noticeably annoyed Kiba quickly opened the sliding door, irritated for some reason.

"You don't look so well…"

"Waking up with an idiot banging at your door, sure, every guy's dream!" the sarcasm within the comment didn't go unnoticed. Naruto laughed, already knowing that Kiba actually hated having his naps interrupted. Kiba's annoyed look didn't leave his features though.

"What do you want?" he finally asked.

Naruto calmed down, taking in a couple of breaths. Finally regaining his composure, he looked at his friend straight in the eye "What I need is your nose." He said, far more seriously that even he intended.

It was Kiba's turn to laugh "Oh, I know I'm gorgeous but you don't have to envy me like that, Naruto!" it was the blonde's turn to be annoyed. Here he was, trying to sound serious and Kiba was playing around with him.

Well, he shouldn't be surprised. It was Kiba, after all.

Finally calming down himself, he asked the question with teary eyes "Ok, ok, what do you need me for?" Naruto sighed.

"I need your help to find Kakashi-sensei and Hinata-chan." The last part was _not _intended to come out. But, rather than a twitch, Naruto betrayed no other emotions about his little mishap.

Kiba looked perplexed "Sure, I could help you find him. He stinks of pheromones anyway. But hasn't Hinata found _you _yet?" it was Naruto's turn to have a questioning look settle on his face.

"Hinata? No, I haven't heard from her for days now!" it was slight, but his voice did betray his worry.

"But, when I went around the Hyuuga compound this morning, the guard told me Hinata-chan was heading over to 'The all-mighty Naruto-sama!'" Kiba mocked with a pretending voice, trying to lighten the mood. Even though he failed, Naruto didn't seem to notice either as he lowered his gaze to the grass.

He had been at his apartment for most of the morning, spending noon and afternoon around the Hokage monument and the village. Hinata should have easily found him, especially with her Byakugan or even the Light. He frowned even more at the thought of something happening to her…

"Uhh, let me get dressed…" Kiba quickly turned around and walked inside, having just realized he was still in a pair of shorts and a simple white top.

Minutes later, the Inuzuka appeared before the doorway with a yapping little dog on his head and his usual jacket and ninja accessories in place. "Ready to go!" he said to himself, for a moment later he realized Naruto had already left the premises, his objective, a rather obvious one.

"Geese, making me chase him around." He scratched his nose "That baka." And with a yap from Akamaru, they where both off…

XxxxX

This was bad. This was really bad. There was not _one _time that Hinata had not informed him or Kiba about her whereabouts. Even when she didn't have the chance to tell him through words, she would always radiate that soothing aura within her soul, telling him that she was alright and nothing was going wrong.

But now, he felt neither that tranquility nor her presence. It was as if the girl had vanished from the surface of the world.

He stretched his mind outwards, stretched it to its limits as he tried to come in contact with any Paladin within range. He was surprised when the answer he got was rather dizzy… and stank of alcohol…?

There where neither beverages nor any bars nearby, yet he could easily make out the strong smell of alcohol in his nostrils. It made him himself dizzy, sick even.

And that presence felt deeper, much older, much more mature in its own way. And far more powerful than either he or Hinata had ever been.

Having no other choice in his mind rather than make do with what was at hand, Naruto began for the northeastern edge of the village, where he felt the powerful presence radiating from…

XxxxX

"Yer didn't have to drag me all the way here ya know." Gorley complained. It was pretty easy for him to play the drunkard, since he was drank most of the time. Yet he could always hold his liquor better than anyone. Any dwarf worth his salt should be proud of that.

"Sorry" the man scratched the back of his head "But you put up a really good show. Man was it annoying to hear you." Pol laughed, laying back on the chair he sat on. They both where in a medium sized living room, a table in the middle with a small fireplace at the side, chairs around said table and a small kitchen on the other side of the room, a green carpet with soft linings of blue decorating the floor and an unconscious Kakashi lying on a bed.

Gorley sighed "Did you have to actually stun him? He will have a hell of a headache when he wakes up you know." He snorted

Pol shrugged in indifference "Doesn't really matter. Headaches are nothing for you, no? You train on hangovers everyday." He laughed at his own humor while the Paladin only grunted in response.

"And speak of the devil." Gorley was already beginning to feel the impact of all his drinks… yet that didn't stop his eyes from going wide.

"He's coming here." He said, serious this time, not a word slipping his tongue.

Pol simply nodded. With a flick of his hand and a flash, he had disappeared.

Gorley sighed heavily. This was not going to be easy…

XxxxX

"WHERE'S HINATA?!" the scream actually made his ears hurt. Damn brat was noisy. He touched his temples with both hands, a tender glow of Light coming from his hands as his headache started to recede rather than grow. It would be easier this way.

"Hin-ho-who?" he asked in bewilderment as he looked at the now destroyed concrete that used to be the door. His eyes squinted. He would make that kid pay for the repairs… and rebuild it.

"Don't joke with me! I could sense you from a mile away! Do you even know…"

"Hold it there kiddo! Just who the hell are you and what are you doing in my home?" Gorley was in no mood for fun. And neither Naruto seemed to be in such high spirits either. Nevertheless, he managed to collect himself in the end.

"Uzumaki Naruto. Yoroshiku (Nice to meet you)." The politeness in his voice was completely forced. It was clear by his posture, anyway.

Gorley snorted "Gorley Stouthammer. Yoroshikaisimasu (I _think_ it means nice to meet you too. Spelling might be wrong, please correct me if you can xD)"

"Wasn't your name Silverhammer?" Pol whispered in his ear from nowhere.

Gorley seemed thoughtful for a moment. "I don't really remember…" he replied, making Naruto look at him wonderingly.

"Anyways…" the dwarf dismissed his invisible friend "I don't know who that Hinata guy or girl is, but I have nothing to do with him/her. Now, if you please…" did he sound polite just now? God, he was good.

Naruto was taken aback at the comment. Even if he spoke the truth about Hinata, he could still feel that the short man had immense power around him…

"But… how do you explain your aura then…?" he couldn't find any better words to describe it. He never could.

"My aura? Oh, it seems I've been going a little overbroad have I notcha?" he grinned to himself and the power seemed to dissipate into nothingness… Naruto couldn't feel any presence anymore.

"How… how the hell did you do that?!" he asked in bewilderment. Gorley's grin was still there.

"Well lad, it wouldn't be nice if everyone could track me, now would it?" his accent was weird too… wait, that guy reminded him of something…

«Είσαι… είσαι ο τύπος από χθες! (You… you are the guy from yesterday!" he spoke in common. The surprised look on the man's face gave him away immediately.

"Gorley…" his brow was furrowed in thought. Wasn't that situation a weird dream he had…? No, wait, it was reality. Or was it not? Damn he was confused.

The dwarf laughed at the expression on Naruto's face. He laughed hard.

"Sh… shut up!" the boy was blushing, more from embarrassment than anything.

"Wait… you-you mean you kids don't know how to hide your presence?" Gorley said it as if it was some kind of joke.

The rather clever answer of a nod Naruto gave him though made him look on in worry.

"By the Light! What has that fool Tirion been teaching yer kids all this time?" he commented while slamming a fist on the wooden table. Needless to say, it cracked…

It was then that Naruto actually took in the short man's figure. He was probably a Dwarf, judging by his height. Both his accent and manners clearly showed the image of a warrior who had spent a lot of time in combat… or in drinking. He didn't care about modesties.

"Bah! I shouldn't have come for that idiot to begin with!" he was probably talking to himself, mumbling curses in Dwarfish and occasionally spitting a Japanese curse here and there.

"Wait… you know Tirion-sensei?" Naruto's eyes were wide in amazement. He never believed that the time would come that he would see a real, alive denizen of Azeroth. All this time he was stuck with a fatherly ghost.

"Of course I know him! He was my commander on the field in the assault of Icecrown!" Gorley said these words with pride. It was probably something to be proud of, having gone into such a battle and having come out alive.

"We where sent from Azeroth to find this fool. He just went and died and took the Ashbringer with him! What was he thinking?!" he was once again mumbling and cursing to himself.

Naruto couldn't see it, but the invisible Pol next to him had sweat-dropped…

"Wait, wait, wait… what are you talking about? Who sent you, why he sent you, and where the hell is Hinata and Kakashi-sensei anyway?!!" he yelled, wanting to make sure that he had the man's attention.

Instead of yelling back like he usually would, Gorley sighed and pointed at the seat before him.

"Sit down kid. We have lots to talk about."

XxxxX

_**Omake: "Naruto, I'm your father…"**_

The clash of lazer swords could be sounded again and again. Each combatant was weaving his way around his opponent, dodging and parrying, counter-attacking and attacking, strike after strike.

The all so hateful Ho Vader that wanted to take over the world was finally facing his final challenge, the last worm that stood in his way of conquering the universe. Naruto Skywalker, the final jedai knight to oppose him.

He pushed and pushed, making Naruto retreat more and more as he parried and tried to counterattack. Yet despite most of his body being mechanical, Ho Vader was more than capable in the art of agility and evasion.

"You won't win this fight! I won't let you take over the Elemental Universe!" the good jedai yelled in determination as he counter-attacked another strike, this time nearly hitting his mark as he cut a part of Vader's cape off.

"Pitiful… you can't do anything now, Skywalker! The world is already mine!" his mechanical voice made him even more that menacing. A new flurry of attacks came over and Naruto struggled to keep up the pace. Regretfully though, he was pushed over the edge of the platform they where fighting on, managing to grasp on the edge with both hands and losing his sword…

Ho Vader said nothing as he gazed at his defeated opponent through his emotionless black mask. It was time for the truth to be revealed… Skywalker had to know, even in his final moment.

"Before I end you, kid, there's something I have to tell you…" he said, reaching for his mask.

Naruto stared wide eyed as he prepared himself for what was to come.

"Naruto…" the mask was taken off, revealing a face that seemed so similar to his and piercing blue eyes.

"I'm your father." He concluded.

Naruto stared wide eyed for a moment.

And then Ho Vader cut both his hands.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOoooooooooooo…!!!!" he screamed in agony as he was lost in oblivion.

XxxxX

"CUT! Damn it Naruto! How many times must I tell you not to change the script?!" Kakashi yelled in anger. The boy just persisted in doing stupid things like that…

"But, it's really cool this way! It could be a great movie!"

XxxxX

"Naruto, I'm your father."

The fallen jedi gazed on with rage as he did a back flip and jumped over Ho Vader, facing his opponent with fury.

"No! I don't believe that! It is time for my secret weapon!" energy began to gather in his hands, uncontrollable and relentless…

"Kame-kame-kame… HAAA!!!" a powerful beam of light hit Vader and he…

XxxxX

"Damn it Naruto! Don't steal moves from other anime!"

"Hey, at least it sounds cool! Maybe if you add a girl too…"

XxxxX

"Naruto, I'm your wife."

Shocked blue eyes gazed into pale lavender ones.

"Hinata???"

XxxxX

"… that's even worse… Ho Vader is a man! A man!!"

"Ok, ok! Alternative then!"

XxxxX

"Naruto… wait, I forgot my words. Can we do it over again?"

XxxxX

"Naruto, I'm your father."

…

…

"Take off your mask?"

"Oh… yeah, sorry."

XxxxX

"Naruto, I'm your father."

"Nooooo!!!!" he yelled in fury.

"I'm sorry I have to do this son… but your mom won't bake me cookies if I don't…"

XxxxX

"Naruto… seriously…"

"… greedy aren't we?"

XxxxX

"Naruto… join the Dark Side…" he sheathed his blade.

"We have cookies…" said cookie appeared in one hand.

"And milk. Lots… of milk." A glass of milk appeared in the other hand, as well as an imaginary milk industry on the background.

And from that day onwards, Naruto Skywalker joined the forces of evil…

XxxxX

"Alright, alright! That's enough for today…" Kakashi sighed in defeat.

"Yeah! My writing skills are kick-ass!"

"I don't know what's more stupid… him, or his text." Sasuke commented…

**A/N: Read and review folks, you know you want to xD (I really enjoyed writing this omake =D)**


	11. Chapter 11: Inner Worlds Unfolding

**A/N: Alright, I should probably apologize for my ever growing tardiness. But it isn't easy on me either. I barely have time to go to the bathroom let alone sit and write -.- with School over my head, family and my studies, it is hard to keep up on writing both Towards the Heaven and the Ashbringer -.- But, I do promise that I won't stop these stories. I'm set on finishing them, anytime that will be. Of course, your own contribution of a review will be very much appreciated. Reviews can keep me going ^-^ Special thanks to those that did review the previous chapter, and if you please, review while signed in so I can respond. I'm quite forgetful and lazy to respond to non-signed messages through my chapters… Arigato.**

_**The Ashbringer: Shinobi of the Light**_

_**Chapter 11: Inner Worlds Unfolding  
**_

He was nervous. Actually, he was very nervous. So nervous that he even felt sick. A forlorn feeling, for he never actually got ill in his life. Being a Jinchuuriki had its cons…

But here, before a stranger, he just couldn't help it. The man seemed dangerous, his features rough and unforgiving, the type that would hit you for no reason at all… hard. Or at least that's what his expression showed. It was like he was ready to punch something. And… was that Kakashi sleeping over there?

What the hell was going on?

Poll, on the other hand, found the scene quite hilarious. Invisible as he was, he couldn't help but tease Gorley to no ends as he kept doing stupid grimaces behind Naruto, easily pissing the dwarf off. Gorley hated it when Poll did this… it made it hard for him to concentrate. He actually thought about throwing his hammer at him…

With a sigh, he tried to relax, keeping his eyes away from the misbehaving mage.

"Ok kid, time for some answers. Since when have you been able to call the Light?" he asked, looking at the unconscious Jounin's direction at the other side of the room, away from Poll's grimaces.

Not thinking there was anything wrong with it, Naruto easily answered with a shrug "Well, about a year or two now. I don't really remember…" he scratched his head in embarrassment, not really glad for his memory.

Gorley on the other hand, laughed. "Hah! That's what I'm talking about! Young lads learn so fast these days… and you're only twelve? Light help us…" he shook his head. He had been able to call upon the Light at the age of twenty… this one's speed was sickening even.

"So, I guess the whole Paladin etcetera thingies came up when you found a certain sword, right?" his eyes where critical, full of knowledge, scanning for the slightest lie.

"Sword? What sword?" he asked as if confused. Gorley's frown deepened.

"Don't take me for a fool, boy. The Ashbringer is pulsing strongly from within you… you can lie as much as you want with words but the Light never lies…" his voice sounded threatening…

Naruto gulped. "Sorry… well, I was maybe ten years old when I found the sword in the forest outside Konoha. I found Tirion that day too… oh…" he just thought that he said something wrong, as Gorley's widened eyes peered into him like a madman.

"Who did you find that day…?" who said short men can't be scary? This one gave him the creeps…

"T-Tirion Fordring…" he stumbled upon his own words.

And Gorley went laughing out loud, hard.

"Hahahahahha I told ye Poll, I told ye!" his rough laughter could probably shake the walls. Naruto couldn't understand though why he pointed behind him…

"Shut up. Ok you where right for once. So what…?" said a defeated voice. Naruto slowly turned around at the new presence, spotting a towering man in a robe and a hood standing behind him, his height nothing in comparison with the dwarf before him.

He gulped "Hello…" he actually was at a loss of words. He hadn't sensed this man at all!

The towering mage slowly leaned forward…

"Why hello there! Name's Poll!" he began to shook his hand hard. "I take it you're Naruto right? Oh I've heard so much about you! Especially you being a blood-thirsty demon… tell me how you do it! Rituals during midnight? A cat's head? Maybe Troll voodoos?" to say that Naruto caught everything he said would be a lie. He was kind of lost right after the self introduction…

"Shut up Poll! There's no voodoo in this world, you know that!" Gorley said angrily. Poll pouted at him "What are you talking about? Voodoo is so cool…" he said as he stepped away from the blonde.

"What are ye, a freaking Troll? You're a mage damn ye! Be useful for once!" he yelled and Poll smirked as he shook his head.

"Ok, ok. Enough playing around then." His expression changed like the wind. The cheerful, carefree tone was changed with a serious, intimidating look. The happy man seemed to be gone…

"You boy, seem to have something that we need…" he leaned forward…

"Give me a break!!" Naruto yelled back in anger, finally finding enough courage to at least retaliate verbally. Poll was taken aback for a second, but he didn't let his mask falter.

"Really kid? We have been searching for your ass for nearly two years now!" he yelled himself "We have gone through so many crap, that I can vow on my robes, I've seen nearly everything! What about fat-smart assed bandits, lethal ninja, raging Kages, and a stupid partner to top it off!!" "HEY!" Poll easily ignored the protest

"You think you had it hard kid? You think you actually had it hard?!" he yelled in fury. Gorley grunted from behind them, but didn't interfere. Poll slimly lost his cool… he might as well let him express his frustration. He wasn't venting on him, anyway.

Naruto's expression remained unseen as he lowered his head, golden bangs hiding his features from sight. Poll breathed in a deep breath…

And sighed. "I've heard about you, Naruto." He began. The blonde still remained silent.

"You're quite famous around these parts…" he chuckled warily "But look at you, even though you went through this crap, you still are who you are now, a young Paladin. But…" he kneeled, trying to catch a glimpse of the blonde's expression.

"You are still a kid. No matter how you look at it, you are still too young. Truthfully, most have not gone through such things, like you have. But you should remember that there are others out there that share your pain. Others that have lived the same, other that have been hurt the same." He took another breath.

"And…"

"What the hell do YOU KNOW?!" the blonde screamed out of the blue. "You think yourself all-mighty? Who the hell would even think of going through what I have? None! None at all! No one gives shit about me!" he shouted in frustration and anger, tears forming in the corners of his eyes.

Both Paladin and Mage stood speechless at his outburst. Not waiting for their reply, Naruto sat up and rushed outside the door, slamming it behind him and leaving the two of them to gaze at his exit in silence…

"Maybe we should go after him?" Gorley suggested.

Poll nodded "Yeah…"

XxxxX

What did they know? What the fuck did they know? Nothing! Nothing at all! They didn't have a demon inside them! They didn't have a foreign soul behind them! They hadn't lived their whole life all alone, hated everyone and mistreated at every chance given. They didn't nearly starve to death everyday, they didn't shiver in the cold winter, unprotected and fragile, they didn't stink like rotten garbage on hot summer days…

His tears where flying behind him at the painful reminiscing as he kept running and running, looking neither behind him nor around him. The world was a blur before his eyes.

Why did it have to be like this? Why did he even run? That man had a point. He may have had suffered in his life much, but that didn't mean he was the only one in the world that had…

XxxxX

"Leave… now." His tone was chilling, full of disappointment and regret. Regret for her being his daughter.

She knew that. She knew it all so well. For days now she had been training secretly and relentlessly in the Hyuuga compound, her father trying to improve her skills before she was to graduate, teach her a clan technique or at least try to.

She was the heir after all… she had to have some skills.

Sadly though, no such thing was to occur as Hinata silently walked outside her father's study, holding back tears. She had tried so hard… she had given it her best. She had even cut off the Light in order to be able to concentrate more. But in the end, it was all in vain.

With regret in her own soul, she tried to call back upon it, at least bask in the warmth that it gave her, the soothing feeling that someone was there, that someone actually cared, that didn't think of her as nothing.

It was hard. What she had done was a reckless action, cutting off her connection for such a trivial reason. But it was all in an attempt to please her father, please him and the eyes of the clan. To manage to be someone.

The Light knew all these… it could feel every emotion that traveled through her heart. It could feel them… and understand them.

So, in attempt to show her that things weren't always like one thought they were, it granter her wish and allowed her back in its hands…

Only to show her what someone else went through. To show her that there was someone that needed her out there, make her understand that she was someone, a human being that could actually help and be useful. More than useful.

Hinata of course, didn't dwell into it that deeply. With her connection back, she immediately felt Naruto's presence. And that scared her to death.

It was so dark, so sad, so pained. What sorrow was hiding in his soul had now surfaced in amazing scales. She could feel his frustration, his pain, his unfocused and confused mind…

Without thinking much, etiquette and manners aside, she rushed towards the gates of the mansion, gripping her jacket along the way, rushing to the side of the one she loved…

XxxxX

Trees… when had the town began to retreat really? When had he gotten outside the walls? No, he was probably in a training ground or something, surrounded by trees in this clearing…

The sun above his head was barely visible as dark clouds hovered in the sky, painting the usually all-blue canvas with dull grey colors. He wasn't looking at the clouds though. He was looking at the cold, brown ground. The soil underneath him felt hard, the grass around his form shifting with the wind…

Maybe he was too selfish… no, those guys didn't even know him! What right did they have to judge him? Nothing!

Clenching his fists in anger, he felt something stirring within him. Something dark and malicious…

XxxxX

She run… and run… and run…

Her lungs were burning and her heart was racing, both physically and emotionally. She could feel his feelings stir and change so rapidly, it confused her to no end. The Light seemed to be faltering within him as she felt their connection dropping, becoming slimmer and weaker.

Fear embraced her as she thought of the worst and prepared herself for it. What was actually going on out there? She was soon to find out…

XxxxX

He sat there, still and unmoving under a tree, his eyes looking into nothing at all. She gazed at his face from afar, grateful to be able to see him after all this time. But his expression pained her so much…

It looked painful. It was as if his soul was on fire. It felt like it. Looking carefully, she noticed the dark aura that seemed to begin to emanate from his body, from within him…

Bewildered and scared at the same time, she approached him regardless of survival instincts screaming at her to do the opposite. Discarding any thoughts of security, she moved forward, even though the aura of malice became thicker and thicker…

Naruto's hands where trembling, be it cold or emotional stress, she did not know. The closer she came the more she felt the Light fading from him… it was darkness that was taking over now…

From where, she wasn't sure. The depths of the soul were a mysterious thing. Was it the pain he had stored up all these years? Was it the fear of neglect that had haunted him for so long coming out? She didn't know… she really didn't know.

A thin, scarlet layer began to take form around him. It looked so frail, so flexible, like a see-through plastic. She could see his features changing, becoming more animalistic…

Her steps came to a halt as the Light itself came in to warn her.

This was not Naruto anymore…

XxxxX

"Oh shit…" Gorley mumbled to himself as both he and Poll run like hell towards the destination that the Paladin felt the darkness emanating from. And it surely wasn't only him. Any shinobi worth his salt could probably feel it as well, if only more faintly than him. It was only a matter of time before the ninja of Konoha came to kill the boy.

If they could, that was.

"Are we too late?!" Poll asked, panicked. It was his fault for provoking the boy in the first place… if only he had taken the safe route, but no, he just had to go in there and play the bad guy.

Gorley grunted, trying to concentrate "No, the seal is holding the demon back from taking full control. But Naruto has already given in to his primal side… it is only a matter of time…"

Gorley just couldn't imagine how much burden that boy must have suffered, for the few hard words of a mage to impact him like that.

It was truly saddening.

"Light help us…"

XxxxX

"Naruto…" she whispered, to herself or to him, she didn't know. It seemed to get a reaction out of the statue-still Naruto though. His whole body flinched as his head rose…

She gazed with fear into blood red eyes, the slits he had for pupils looking at her with hunger…

His teeth had formed canines, his whiskers had become thicker, his hair longer and wilder, his hands deadly claws.

The dark aura around him dissipated as it came under control. But Naruto's form didn't retreat. The changes remained. He seemed to only keep his aura hidden.

Was it Naruto that was in charge? No, she couldn't feel his soul through all this malice and bloodlust. But, if that thing was truly in control, she guessed it wouldn't just stare at her right now… it would have already killed her.

Clenching her fists, she braced herself as she entered the Gentle Fist stance, prepared to fight to the death… if only to save him.

The feral Naruto smirked, two rows of sharp teeth visible sparkling in the what feint light there was. And in a flash, he was gone…

Having no time to wonder what was going on, she activated her bloodline with a start, ready to stop whatever attack the monster had prepared. It took her a second to realize what was going on, when he was nowhere within her line of sight…

Jumping to the side, she barely made it to escape a lethal blow from behind. He knew of it! He knew of the Byakugan's blind spot!

An intrigued demon-Naruto peered at her as he stood up from the ground. Titling his head slightly to the side, his features suddenly began to change… he was becoming Naruto again…

"Hinata…" said his voice, that voice that she could make out through a thousand ones. Pleading cerulean looked deeply into lavender, his steps slowly taking him closer… She scanned him from head to toe for a genjutsu. She could find none… was it truly Naruto before her? But how? How could he suddenly change back from whatever had come over him…?

"Hinata… I'm sorry… I don't know… I really don't know…" was there tears welling up in his eyes? God, her heart was aching at the sight, urging her to drop her stance, drop all defenses and rush to his side. He came closer and closer…

Why couldn't she see any Genjutsu? There should be one there! There must be one!

He was only an arms length away from her now… "Hinata I…"

He didn't have time to do anything else as an ethereal golden hammer came crushing down upon him, missing him by an inch.

Hinata panted as she tried to control the ethereal, yet so concrete appendage. She still didn't have a good handle over 'Judgement'. Her attack spells where always so inefficient…

But it seemed to help in this situation as Naruto's prowl form took on its demonic features again.

The beast growled… **"Wretched woman… you dare use the Light against me…?" **he threatened, his voice otherworldly and far too deep to belong to the blonde boy she loved. Determination shined within her eyes as she directed another 'Judgement' spell on the demon.

Easily avoiding it, the possessed Naruto chuckled. **"Such pitiful attempts will do you no good." **He smirked **"The Byakugan is still weak under Kitsune illusions eh…? How fitting…"** he mused to himself. Hinata's mind was set on her target, prepared for anything.

Yet his words shook her. Kitsune… where had she heard that before? Now that she thought of it, why did these blood red eyes look familiar? Why did his chakra feel so dark and evil…?

Kyuubi no Kitsune…

Her very heart dropped at the realization. Kyuubi had taken over Naruto…?

Yes, she knew he was the carrier. No, she had no idea what the demon looked like except for the characteristics of a fox. Yes, she had felt him hidden deep within Naruto a couple of times before.

No, she did not expect him to ever come out…

But what could she do now? She was facing the mighty nine-tails, a monster that a Hokage had not defeated, but barely sealed. What could she, a Genin actually do?

Wait… she wasn't a simple Genin.

She was also a Paladin.

With that thought encouraging her, she prepared another spell that she had learned… one that she hoped would help Naruto come to his senses…

XxxxX

"Shouldn't we interfere?" Gorley asked. But Poll remained adamant that they shouldn't trifle in this. His calculating eyes kept watching over the battle, amazed and intrigued at the same time.

He knew this battle was his own fault. He knew that bad things could occur if he didn't step forward in time. But for now, he wanted to bid his time, see how things could work out.

Besides, Kyuubi had merely taken over the body. The soul was still Naruto's…

XxxxX

"Where's Naruto?" she hissed, a very strange sound coming out from her usually shy way of talking. Once she voiced the question, she began mumbling words.

The possessed blonde laughed… laughed hard.

"**That waste of flesh is brooding right now. Tyrion is too weak to do anything, let alone hold me back. And you… my dear…" **a feral grin was plastered on his features, bloody and violent.

"**Shall join both of them into oblivion...!"** thanks to his little speech, Hinata's silent mumblings went unheard. Forcing both palms forwards, piercing him with furious lavender eyes, the girl began to call out the last string of her spell…

Kyuubi's eyes went wide, yet he smirked once again **"Stupid woman… you think your power alone is enough to exorcise me? I, will show you, what true power is!!" **and by saying so he rushed forward, his speed tremendous and unforgiving.

Hinata sweated. She wouldn't have time to finish her spell…

Preparing for the end, the girl closed her eyes, ready to accept any fate. Her only regret was that she had failed to save him…

She heard the demon crushing into something, then been thrown away with a howl of pain. She opened her lavender eyes to see a shield surrounding her, ethereal and frail looking, yet so strong that even the demon was pushed back.

Grunting, he stood up. Noticing the girl's lost and dazed gaze, he knew that she wasn't the one that cast that shield…

XxxxX

Poll frowned down upon his friend.

"What? 'Hand of Protection' can come in handy ye know…"

XxxxX

He didn't have time to actually look around and find the interloper. He had to stop her before she finished that spell. Whether she was able to pull it off or not, the demon had learned in his many years of life that the unexpected can come from the smallest of things…

He rushed forward again…

But a determined Hinata had already finished her casting.

Kyuubi stopped dead in his tracks as he clutched his stomach. He felt like screaming in agony, but his voice was muted, silenced. He looked down upon himself, only to see searing Light emanating from the center of his being.

The damn bitch had made it… she had actually cast a high level exorcism spell. Managing to merely grunt, the demon looked at her with eyes full of hatred, a promise of doom.

"**The next time we meet… you won't be so lucky…"** he turned a meaningful glance towards the two that watched from afar. She had probably seen them too, Byakugan and all.

Not able to resist the pain anymore, Kyuubi retreated back into the safety of the seal, into the dark heaven that was his eternal prison…

XxxxX

"You know, I sometimes wonder how you can be such a good warrior and an idiot at the same time." Poll commented, rubbing his chin in thought at this eternal debate. Gorley didn't comment back, his answer being only a frown.

"That girl stood not a chance. Her fighting skills lack what makes a warrior." His wise gaze peered towards the indigo-haired girl, who now clang to the free blonde boy, the trembling of her body indicating her silent sobs.

"She lacks the determination and purpose of a warrior. Her fear of hurting him lowered her capabilities. If I hadn't interfered with my 'Hand' and the 'Exorcism', she would be dead…" he looked down at his hands, grateful for once that these limbs could actually help people, rather than only allow him the pleasure of drinking.

"Who cares? You could resurrect her anyway…" Poll said with a shrug.

Gorley glared at him "You know damn well that this spell is not for just anyone!" he growled. He knew Poll was teasing him, but he would never take insults over the best workings of the Light.

Poll only shrugged again. "Let's get back, that Kakashi guy might awake anytime now." He said and started walking towards where the village was supposed to be, Gorley following him with a grunt.

XxxxX

Back at their house, the sleeping form of Kakashi vanished in a cloud of smoke…

XxxxX

Said Jounin was now peering down from a tree at the two genin, the girl holding the boy in her arms and crying softly. He sighed. Such sad scenes of affection where so rare nowadays, in the world they lived in.

He looked behind him, seeing the fleeing forms of the two men that hid under the tree he sat atop. Did they really believe they could take him down with such puny tricks...?

Sighing, he didn't sit to ponder on it anymore. The danger had passed here, and it seemed that it would rain soon. Looking back at the kids, he prepared himself to announce his presence…

XxxxX

"You did quite well here…" a low, lazy voice spoke from behind her. Jumping at the new sound, Hinata stood up in preparation, ready to strike whomever…

Kakashi-san?

Noticing the tall figure of the Konoha legend, Hinata inwardly sighed in relief. She didn't think she could fight another fight so soon…

"Arigato… Kakashi-san…" she found it in herself not to stutter before the man. He simply smiled that unique smile of his at her in response.

Kakashi came closer and kneeled before the sleeping form of the blonde. Pressing a hand on his forehead, he easily noticed the rising fever, even through his glove. He frowned at the unusual sight. Naruto never got sick.

Thankful though that his pulse and heartbeat where steady and normal, he put himself at ease with the situation. The veteran pondered what had come over Naruto to actually make him lose control like that. In years past, whenever the kid was under attack, whenever he suffered another injury or insult, he never let it get over him.

He would always prevail.

What had changed now?

He shook his head. Maybe it had something to do with…

Turning his gaze to look at the worried Hyuuga, Kakashi's mind began to escalate as he wondered where the hell had she learned that technique…

There weren't many ninja that could actually throw golden hammers around. Kakashi knew none himself.

"Hyuuga-san, I believe Naruto has a fever. Mind accompanying me?" he offered, extending one hand at the girl and picking the boy on his shoulder with the other.

She looked at him dazed for a moment, before she extended her own hand so that he could help her up.

Well, Kakashi did pull her up. Way up.

With both kids over his shoulders, the Jounin began to make his way towards where he knew Naruto's home to be, easily ignoring the Hyuuga's yelps of protest.

XxxxX

He made it a point to himself to avoid the roads. Seeing a Hyuuga being carried this way would be disgraceful… he chuckled. Since when did he care if he was disgraceful or not…?

By the time Hinata had settled down, Kakashi had already reached the door to Naruto's apartment. The man was fast, she would give him that.

When she first saw him appear out of nowhere, she didn't know what to do. She had only heard of him in tales and seen him around the village once or twice. The man was a legend, even in her book. Setting thoughts of admiration aside though, she let him examine Naruto himself. He seemed to have some familiarity with the blonde, a closeness that she couldn't quite catch…

She already knew he had a fever before Kakashi mentioned it. The all-seeing-eye is not for laughs. She was thankful that the man was here. Carrying Naruto would be taxing in and on itself, let alone take him to his house.

But Kakashi seemed to be pretty at ease with carrying them both. The fitness being a shinobi gave was marvelous indeed.

She was also glad that he avoided the streets and went through rooftops. Kami, if anyone saw her like that and told her family, she would never hear the end of it…

Unfortunately for her, the Hyuuga's where the emblem of power in this village. A power that everyone saw as unwavering and eternal. That's what she had to uphold too, whether she wanted to or not.

Her mind came back to focus though as she noticed the silver-haired man opening the door smoothly, putting her down and carrying Naruto inside.

Glad that she could stand on her own two feet again, she peered around her, taking in the image of what seemed to be his home... his home…?

Despite any effort, she couldn't stop the blush that crept up her face. Sighing in amazement, a hand unconsciously caressed the cold white wall next to the door. This was where Naruto had lived the past years of his life… where he had found comfort when no one else was around. Where he had probably cried and hid away his pain, away from the eyes of the public.

Kakashi appeared in the small hallway again, a lone, bored eye, looking down at her small form.

"Hyuuga-san, I have other matters to attend to. Could you please be so kind as to help Naruto recover until I'm back…?" he asked. She only nodded, curious lavender eyes returning to scan her surroundings the moment he finished talking.

She could swear she heard him chuckle for some reason. But she chose to ignore it. The man was gone before she even knew it anyway.

Stepping around the wooden floor, she found the door that probably read to his bedroom… it was small, not much room left for people to move around.

No wait… it wasn't the bedroom that was small. It was the endless piles of clothes and garbage that littered the floor that made it look like it. The smell assaulted her nose and she could only put a hand before her mouth in order to protect herself from the forlorn scent that lingered in the air.

Maybe she had more to do for the blonde boy, rather than just caring for his health…

XxxxX

_**Omake: Ask and you shall Have**_

HoNdeR: **So, Naruto, what's your opinion of Death Knights whatsoever?**

Naruto: Umm… No-lifers?

XxxxX

**Say, Hinata, name some things you like. I and the audience are very curious.**

Hinata: Um… ano… I like… I like… I like…

"Five minutes later"

I-I-I… like… I…

**Ok, next!**

XxxxX

**Neji, I've heard that you want to be the greatest Hyuuga warrior ever when you grow up. What made you decide this?**

Neji: It was destined.

XxxxX

**Sakura, your aspiration is to become Sasuke's wife someday, am I wrong?**

Sakura: Well… yeah?

**So, how are you planning to achieve that dream?**

Sakura: Umm… first of all, I might poison his food… then, umm, I think I'll carry him somewhere far away from Konoha and the rest of the world and keep him drugged until his memory fades. Then, I'll be by his side as he begins an epic adventure to regain his memory and he'll fall in love with me for being the one that stood by his side in his time of need. Umm… why is everyone staring at me like that?

**Ahem, no worries, worries… on to the next one! And someone please call the police if you will. Or a vet, it doesn't make much of a difference.**

XxxxX

**Kiba, is your mother a bitch?**

Kiba: Huh…? I guess…

**So, you hereby admit that your mother is a bitch?**

Kiba: I guess so. What's wrong with that? All Inuzuka women are bitches in some way…

**Yeah, yeah thank you for being so informative. And Naruto, stop fucking laughing!! Ahem…**

XxxxX

**Kakashi, what's your opinion of shadow clones?**

Kakashi: Useful?

"Somewhere else in another part of Konoha, Kakashi puffs in a cloud of smoke after beating Gai in another rock-papers-scissors match…"

XxxxX

**Tsunade, the audience is really curious about how you managed to make your breasts so big…**

Tsunade: "Smirk" What audience?

**Umm… why is half the building missing…?**

XxxxX

**So, Tenten, we've heard that you can hit anything with ranged weapons and with deadly accuracy to add to it. Can you even bent the kunais while they're on flight?**

Tenten: Of course! "Claps hands happily and spawns weapons out of nowhere."

**Wow, quite an impressive skill. Ever heard of "Wanted"?**

XxxxX

**Sasuke, it is rumored that you cut your hair to look like a chicken's butt in honor to your favorite guitarist.**

Sasuke: "Eye twich" My hair has nothing to do with Buckethead…

XxxxX

**Jiraiya, your legendary pervertness is told to have reached levels unbeknownst to man or woman. What do you have to say about that?**

Jiraiya: Kid… I'm no pervert…

"Begins to dance"

Jiraiya: I'm the Great Jiraiya, Summoner of Toads, leader of men, part of the Sannin, and of course the world's greatest super pervert with a capital A!

**Yeah… can you please look at the camera and not at Tsunade's breasts?**

XxxxX

**Itachi, I've heard that you have made yourself quite a famous band of singers in a very short time. How have you achieved that?**

Itachi: "Blinks". The trick is to kill one of them every time they miss a note.

XxxxX

**Orochimaru, where have you learned your fighting style anyway? That's a mystery to many of us. Surely some exhausting training program that made you beg for water? ****A bald Chinese-like sensei that tortured you to no end?**

Orochimaru: "Shooks head" I had absorbed the soul of a monk once…

It tasted like chocolate.

XxxxX

**That's all for today folks! On the next episode of the Ashbringer: Shinobi of the Light, we shall introduce a new character! Hope you all enjoy him, my inspiration on that one came from a comic I've read… Oh, and of course be wary for the continuation of this Omake as well! We still have some people to question… "Shines"**


	12. Chapter 12: Let The Bodies Hit The Floor

_**The Ashbringer: Shinobi of the Light**_

_**Chapter 12: Let the bodies hit the floor…**_

"It seems that my question has befallen on deaf ears…" his voice was deep and malicious, piercing seas of yellow gazing into unfortunate brown ones. The man held the other, shorter unlucky fellow high in the air with not that much of an effort, despite his own lack of muscles. His skin was pale as death and most of his body was concealed by dark robes. A dark hood with red outlining and a cloth to mask anything but his eyes, gloves that let sharp fingers poke out, bracers thick and dark like the rest of his gear. A single red jewel seemed to adorn his chest.

"I-I-I told you, good sir, you are in Wave Country." The shorter man couldn't help the shiver that run up his spine. He barely held himself from releasing his bladder…

"Wrong answer." The robed man simply said and with the short man's head exploded in flames, leaving nothing but a headless corpse behind.

Smoke churned from the free hand of the tall man before he tossed the corpse to a pile behind him.

His glare softened as boredom overtook him again.

He gazed around him… nope, this wasn't his world. He couldn't feel his source of power anywhere nearby, and his powers should be diminished because of it. Yet strangely, he found himself stronger than ever. Smirking at the thoughts of slaughter, the man began to hop around the piles of corpses, the caravan that was unlucky enough to meet him being reduced to nothing but flames.

"It's so good to be alive…" he said to himself before snapping his fingers, a woman that was hiding suddenly jumping out and running around screaming, her form engulfed in flames.

The tall, pale man gazed at her with glee.

"They scream better this way" and with a huge smile, he went on his way…

XxxxX

"I told you, the orphanage attacked me! It was self-defense!" yellow eyes glared with anger as a long, sharp finger, or claw, poked the man's chest. Said man didn't back out an inch.

"You can't trick us so easily, maggot. Prepare to die…" the man's dangerous voice seemed to fall on deaf ears as the accused robed fellow seemed to be more interested to a rabbit that passed by.

"Die?" he said, still looking at the rabbit.

"I already did that, a few hundreds of years ago…" a malicious glare befell upon the ninja, from Amegakure it seemed, who had already drawn his sword, prepared to defend himself.

The robed man didn't waste much time. His left hand was engulfed in flame as he shot a beam of fire at the ninja. Luckily for him, the shinobi's keen senses told him fast enough that contact wouldn't be pleasant…

Impressed but not unhindered, the pale man shot a junk of ice at the airborne ninja, sending him to the ground with a thud. The man tried to get up in vain, the ice locking him to the ground.

"You know, I hate victims that don't sit down like good toys…" his left hand held a hungering flame in it.

"You may kill me, but more will come! You will die, insolent scum! Die, die, di…" he didn't say much more as his whole body was incarnated. The magic user sighed as he turned around, another one of his victim's companions popping out of nowhere.

"Bastard! You killed Fin! Prepare to die!" and charged.

The accused man sighed again. "Why is everyone so obsessed with death, anyway?" and went on his way to kill yet another fool…

XxxxX

A noise… smells… the feeling of something soft under him. Naruto wondered what was going on as consciousness gripped him. Last thing he remembered was he crying in the middle of the forest or something…

Letting his eyes flutter open, his confused mind focused enough to let him know he was in his own apartment, his house. Not feeling very much like getting up, he just let himself relax on the bed, setting all thoughts aside. He had most likely fallen asleep there in the forest and someone had brought him home, probably Kakashi-sensei.

He also remembered the reason he had run there in the forest. That, Poll guy… he had reminded him, forcefully, of everything he had gone through. How could he possible understand? None could. But Naruto had long since promised himself he wouldn't cry over it again. He was no baby anymore. He was older, stronger.

Ok, so twelve years old isn't that much of an age, but he was still older, entering his teens anytime now! Crying wasn't allowed! So why had he felt the urge to release tears so strong? What had given him the need to cry so much…?

Maybe Poll was right. Maybe deep down he really was a coward. Instead of showing his tears, even to himself, instead of vending this pain and letting it go, he held on it and locked it up in a part of his soul. But that didn't mean he could hold it in forever… Poll had just managed to make a break through that door, sundered it, so that the pain would flow out, so that he could free the bonds that made him hold on that pain…

He felt so much lighter now… so much lighter and happier… like a part of him was cleansed. If that was what crying made you feel like afterwards, then he was probably a fool in avoiding it in the first place. Or was he not? The matter was rather confusing…

Not sitting to contemplate on it, he found himself in need for the bathroom. He hated getting up from the soft bed to enter the coldness of what people called the 'toilet'. But, nature was relentless…

Groggily getting up, he even found himself in his pajamas. He grimaced at the idea of Kakashi undressing him. At least the man was a pervert, not a pedophile. He wasn't sure what made the big difference though…

Heading for where he knew the bathroom to be, he was surprised that he didn't stumble onto something. Gazing at the floor, he finally understood what felt so amiss about his surroundings.

His apartment was clean… it was freaking clean!!

Did Kakashi clean it up as well? Nah, the man didn't take care of his own accommodations, let alone those of others.

Thinking it is just a miracle, that maybe everything went to its place and cleaned itself by itself, Naruto continued to the bathroom, wary of what he would see.

By the Light, even the bathroom was clean!! Did he actually have that much room in here before? No wait, did anything ever sparkle in his house to begin with before?

Well, now it did.

XxxxX

"Papers?" the guard asked at the approaching tall figure. By the looks of him, he was probably a merchant or something, not a ninja. No village affiliation was visible whatsoever.

"Papers? Hmm…" the man put a hand in his robes and pulled out a scroll. The guard took it and began reading… or at least tried to.

"Umm, I'm sorry sir, but what language is this?" the man asked, clearly confused. There was not even one kanji in there. Only some weird words he couldn't comprehend and a picture of the man before him, glaring daggers.

"So impressive, the people of this land don't even know how to read? Stupidity spreads like the plague nowadays…" his posture was contemplating as he gazed at the surrounding forest. What an impressive sight it was. And there should be so many things to kill here… but, he was no fool. If the idiots he had come across with in the past few days where any indication, the people of this world possessed greater skills than those of his own.

Killing was much more enjoyable when the victim actually put up a good fight…

Though he did prefer to kill fast so he could just move on and kill someone else too.

Contemplating whether to incarnate the guard or not, he decided against it as he spotted people in black cloaks jumping around the rooftops within the village. Probably home-guard or something.

Grunting at the annoying human that kept asking questions, he prepared to channel power in his hands…

"Don't worry. He's a friend of ours, coming from lands afar." A short man said, a hammer on his back. The power subsided quickly as pure yellow eyes peered down at the newcomer.

"Oh, right, Gorley. Well, if you say so… just don't stir any trouble, will you?" the guard said and gave the papers back. He could feel a chill running up his spine as he noticed the robed traveler glaring at him.

"Come on, come on. We have work to do!" the dwarf urged, hopping to get the robed man away from his drinking partner as quickly as possible. He knew what tendencies people like him could have most of the time…

The pale one nodded and began to follow the dwarf, gazing around in wonder.

The guard just sighed and prepared to sit back in his chair… when it was engulfed in flame, burning to ashes in a couple of seconds. His heart nearly jumped out of his chest as if he was a step closer, the flames would have taken him too.

A short distance away, Gorley glared at the much taller man.

He just shrugged in response, pointing a thumb to his left "He did it." The accused little kid looked up in wonder…

XxxxX

Stealthily, silent for anyone else other than himself, Naruto crept up to the kitchen where he knew his target resided. Slightly poking his head out of the corner, his eyes immediately spotted the culprit of the sear cleanness that conquered his home this day.

There, wearing an apron and huming happily to herself, was Hinata, unaware of any other presence, oblivious and lost in her own little world…

Perfect.

Not wasting any time, and by using his amazing (at least he thought they where) stealth skills, he snuck up behind her, ready to pounce his helpless classmate and friend when…

Soap?

"Naruto-kun, you haven't washed your face!" she said with a giggle, rubbing said face with a wet towel.

Grunting, he tried to retaliate. "Argh! Stop! I can't breath! I'm dying of suffocation here!" if he had enough breath to scream like that, he could surely breath as well. But, giggled never ending, she relented to his pleas and let go.

What a big mistake it was of her.

Not one to not show his appreciation, Naruto immediately turned the tables by taking the same wet towel and rubbing it in her face as well.

She couldn't hold in her laughter as he seemed more likely to tickle her to death rather than suffocate her with the towel. There was no force behind it whatsoever.

Joy time over, Naruto stepped back with a wide grin on his face, throwing the now dried appendage into the sink.

"Say, Hinata…" he began. The girl stared at him for a moment before realized he actually spoke.

"Hm?" she asked, turning back to the dishes she was preparing… not much, since Naruto barely had anything other than ramen in here.

"Why are you here anyway?" he asked, trying to sound uninterested. Yet he couldn't hide the hint of appreciation in his words, not from her.

Finally feeling the brunt of what she was actually doing these last past hours, Hinata's blush rose to challenge even the greatest tomato. Ridiculous as it may seem, Naruto had actually pent her up for that kind of weird competition a few months ago…

He didn't seem to mind her blush though, as all he was expecting and looking for, was an answer. Clear and sincere would be best.

Not daring to look at him, she answered evenly "Taking care of you. You've been out for hours." She tried to hide any emotion that dared linger in her words. She even forgot to stutter mid-way.

Naruto seemed to notice this. A fool as he usually was, he wasn't one to miss human emotions. Not by a long shot. Something was troubling her… Hinata's voice never was emotionless less she wanted to hide something.

"What happened? Why did I pass out…?" he asked himself out of the blue as he actually noticed not being able to remember lots of things… last thing he remembered, he was weeping under a tree a little way out of Konoha.

He felt himself blushing too at the thought of Hinata or Kakashi finding him tear-stained and sleeping in that kind of place. None was supposed to watch him cry.

And then he remembered why he had actually cried. That Poll and Gorley guys… weird as they may have been and straight-forward, they hadn't lied… he already knew there where others out there who might suffer like he did. But what if there was none other? What if this fate was bestowed solely on him?

Gripping his head in irritation, he felt a headache forming and tears starting to well up again. He had to fight it back, this urge to cry, this urge to lose himself in darkness and just escape it all…

Opening his eyes again, first thing he noticed was… Hinata's face?

Concerned lavender was gazing into his own cerulean, not a hint of blush. Only worry. Come to think of it, why was Hinata here in the first place? Kakashi could have just dropped him by in his apartment if he had found him, or take care of him himself. Why would Hinata stay here…? Probably all day long, judging by the clock.

Not daring to meet her gaze, he looked away to the only window of his kitchen. The sky was dark outside… probably still noon or twilight. It was beginning to rain nevertheless…

"Are you hurt?" he heard her soft voice asking. He still didn't let himself look her in the eye. He didn't know if he could hold his emotions back if he did so. He didn't want her to see what his eyes held within…

"Naruto-kun, are you hurt?" Hinata would at times join him for spars or training, hang out and the such, but she had never come to his apartment… never had she been bold enough to actually come up and stay close to him herself. She would always keep that short, yet so distant distance between them…

But she seemed to brake that rule now. She was close, so close he could barely feel her slow breaths on his cheek.

"Can you answer me…?" she wasn't forcing him. She was as gentle as she could be. He didn't know what hurt most. Telling, or not telling her.

He decided the later was worse.

"I… I don't know…" he began slowly, still looking at the window. The rain was intensifying… and for some reason he felt her coming even closer…

What was she doing? Yes, he knew she had feelings for him for some time now, but she would never take initiative or courageous decisions like that!

He felt warm hands grasp his own… daring a glance at her, she had actually sat right next to him, holding one of his palms within her own, small, frail ones… They were only twelve, but the difference between their genders was already showing.

"That... some Poll guy… he just thought he knew it all!" he continued from where he had left from. She didn't speak. "I mean… yeah, I know that most people don't have a good life, I know that there are people who actually live in the streets… but… they don't know…" he felt emotion stir within him, that sadness that was about to surface again.

Would she judge him? Would she laugh at his weakness? Would she turn away and leave him be? No, that wasn't like Hinata at all. Yet he couldn't bring himself to not feel like that. But… he had already started. No going back now. No second chances.

"They don't know what it is like to be glared at everyday! To be hit and lowered, to be criticized and scorned…" he actually felt a tear rolling down his cheek. He was already crying…?

"They don't know how it is to live alone in the dark, afraid to even cross the street! They don't know how it feels to look behind your shoulder all the time in case some drunkards appear and beat you up!" He was crying now, he could feel the tears running hot down both sides of his face, staining his features yet again.

He closed his eyes, the concern on her own pale face unbearable to him. Would she leave him now? Knowing that he was probably a danger to her and her clan's prestige as well, being the dropout he is, the loathed and hated boy of the village that, for whichever unreasonable purpose or belief, kept him away.

He expected her to sit up and leave. He expected the warmth of her hands around his fade in the coldness that slowly sipped into his apartment.

And indeed her hands where retracted. He could feel his palm becoming cold with the loss of her warmth. His heart though felt colder than his hand did…

And there she was, trying to warm that heart up in her embrace. Wait, embrace?

Opening his eyes in wonder, he actually found the petite girl clinging to him, a soothing hand running up and down his back.

Newfound tears began to flow as the feeling of relief washed over him, bathing him in its glory and let his soul rejoice at the thought that someone cared. She did care… the girl that had feelings for him, that stood beside him, she did care.

Even though she knew the secret that lied within him, even though she knew what dangers being with him could bring, she still did care, an unwavering will that no one could break…

Letting his defenses fall, he hugged her back, crying into her shoulder.

"They don't know… they don't know…" he chanted over and over again between his sobs.

She stayed silent for a moment… "… I know…" a reassurance, a statement, a question, he didn't know what she phrased it for to be. The pain that hid in her own heart started to ache for release as she brought back to mind her own painful past, a family that did not want her. She had something that he wanted, and yet did not. Naruto on the other hand didn't know why, didn't know how, but he did believe her… even though he was firm on his belief that none would ever understand, he believed her…

Her own sobs began to escalate as both children cried in each others embrace, the thundering sky the only other sound within the darkness of the creeping night…

XxxxX

"So, tell me why I shouldn't turn you to ashes, Dwarf." The man said with a flare burning on his fingers. They had now entered a small house at one side of the village, away from prying eyes.

"Shhh! You freakin' idiot! You think you can come in and ruin everything?!" Gorley growled.

The other occupant of the room didn't seem to notice as he found the wooden chair before him more interesting.

"I haven't killed anything for a day… I'm getting tense…" a block of ice suddenly dropped before Gorley's feet, missing the dwarf by an inch.

"Oops, my hand slipped. So I ask again. What's your business with me?" his piercing yellow eyes glared at the shorter man's form. Gorley on the other hand didn't dare betray the fear he felt.

"Alright, I'll take it from the start. There's a child in this village…"

XxxxX

"Where the hell is he?!" Poll yelled to himself in desperation. All day long, he had been searching aimlessly around for the idiot of a Paladin that he called 'friend'. Looking around nearly all the bars in Konoha, he was surprised to find him in none, not even at the brew competition that took place a few blocks away from Gorley's favorite establishment!

Something was terribly wrong, if Gorley missed something like free brew.

His whole body nearly trembled with worry. The Light only knew what stupid things the dwarf would be doing on his own, without him there to keep him in line. Poll did his best to compose himself. He had to keep up appearances... if the townsfolk began to worry, ninja would interfere. If ninja interfered, things could get troublesome.

There where two other places that the dwarf could be at, but he really doubted that would be the case. Lowering his hood a little more to protect himself from the falling rain, Poll reinforced the enchantment on his cloak, making it evaporate any water that touched it and keeping himself warm…

He was pretty sure that the chill he felt was _not _because of the weather…

XxxxX

"You want me… to protect… someone?" yellow eyes glared hard into Gorleys'.

Then the man burst out laughing. Laughing hard.

"Ahahaha, that's good, that's very good…" he calmed himself down "What's in it for me?" he asked, seriousness taking over again. Gorley scratched his beard… what would a Warlock want?

"Mmm… if you succeed, you can keep it as a minion…" his thoughtful gaze missed the look of glee on the other man's eye.

"If you can control it, that is." He glared back at the robed man. The 'Warlock' sighed and laid himself back on the chair, relaxing his pose. The future seemed so much enjoyable…

"Do you think any war might come up through this?"

"Aye."

"Do you think there'll be innocent little children involved?"

"… maybe…"

The man cackled "Do you think any of them will survive?"

Gorley just stared at him.

"Rhetorical question, it was."

XxxxX

"Thanks for the meal, Hinata. I really needed that one!" Naruto said with a satisfied grin on his face. The rain outside had intensified, but that was no worry for him as it was. He felt so much lighter and happy that the rest of the world outside his small apartment seemed nothing but a far away dullness in the horizon.

She smiled as she picked up her plate in order to place it in the sink. She loved cooking, it made her relax and let her concentrate on other things rather than her everyday life. It was like an escape from reality, her own little world.

She had never seen Naruto cry like that. And it made her smile even more, a smile that came from the heart, that he would allow such tears to fall before her. He trusted her enough to show her his pain, who Naruto really was.

And there couldn't be a greater award than the satisfied smile he held now. Awkward as it was when they where done crying, each for their own reasons, their growling stomachs had come to rescue, reminding them that dinner would be more than welcome.

Naruto for one, didn't have anything running through his mind. The emptiness that had taken over his brain was welcome, relaxing. He wanted to ask her something… what was it again? Why was she here? Why was she doing all these?

He lied his head down on the table and watched her petite form as she cleaned the plates up. He almost chuckled at the vanity of his own thoughts. The answer was as clear as day.

She loved him… she really loved him…

He smiled at the way her frame moved around, elegantly and carefully, slender fingers grasping everything with care.

Maybe she was more than a teammate to him. Maybe she was more than a friend.

She was his angel…

XxxxX

And so, through ups and downs the month passed. Gorley kept it a secret from Poll that a Warlock was actually roaming around the elemental continent. The paladin had let that man go on one condition: First, that he wouldn't laughter anyone for no reason and second, that he would be back in at least one year. The Warlock promised that he would be back and gave him a piece of jewelry to keep, saying that he had to bestow it on the kid they had discussed about.

Poll on the other hand, was very much displeased by his friend's attitude. They had been adventuring together for two whole years and Gorley still kept secrets from him, as if he was not trustworthy! IT really lowered his ego. And his sense of companionship.

Naruto had kept hard on his training to be the best Paladin he could. Yet to both his and Tirion's dismay, he had made little progress. He couldn't manage to scale much further from where he already was. 'Redemption' was a spell too far away on his list.

Tirion had his hopes pinned on Naruto's skill to learn fast. But he wasn't a fool. He knew that the arts of the Light where mostly based on patience and understanding. Not hurried, half-done jobs. As Naruto trained, Tirion prepared a spell that would either end a legend, or give birth to a new one…

XxxxX

"Graduation doesn't seem so far away anymore, eh?" Kiba said with a wide grin. Truthfully, the ceremony would take place tomorrow. It was needless to say that the trio of friend's had made it past the ridiculously easy examination of becoming a genin.

Naruto thought that the system went too softly towards academy students. Unless you where of a shinobi clan and got private training, when you went out in real life, you would barely know enough jutsu to protect yourself against a grandpa. And that was only _if _he wasn't a ninja.

Nevertheless, he was glad that his two friends had managed through as well. He didn't think they would fail anyway. With Hinata's skill and intelligence, with Kiba's determination and training, they had both made it far enough to be Genin.

"So the dobe actually managed to do something right…" that so familiar voice… it would be peculiar to misunderstand it. It always made his head ache and his nerves crack. A sensation you don't get with just anyone.

"Unlike some teme I know…" he replied evenly, turning to glare at the one he had labeled as –Emo King-.

"How are you doing, _your highness?_" If Naruto hadn't voiced these words with so much mockery, Sasuke would surely be flattered.

"Nothing much, just trying to talk with the _peasantry_, that's all." Sasuke managed to look so indifferent, that one would think he was practicing a speech, rather than debating with his nemesis.

Naruto's eye twitched. Why the teme always had something answer him with?

Sighing, he let it slide and turned back at Kiba, said boy playing with Akamaru around till the two of them where finished. It always took a few minutes for Naruto and Sasuke to throw their usual insults around, anyways.

"Oi, done already?" Kiba asked as he picked his puppy and companion up, setting him on the usual spot of his head. "You guys usually take longer." He commented with a raised finger.

"Not in the mood." Naruto simply answered before beginning to walk away from the academy. Today's graduation test was a mockery to his ninja skills in itself. He had nothing to do here.

Or, more likely, his Paladin skills.

But he also had to thank Kakashi-sensei. Even though the man was a lazy, laid back guy, he had given him some usefull tutoring throughout their days of training. His Shinobi skills were as high as his paladin ones were.

And Naruto couldn't be more proud of himself…

Even though he knew that there was one thing he couldn't accomplish throughout these past months. He couldn't accomplish the _one _thing he wanted most. To save his other teacher…

Tirion. The man's whose soul was fading within him.

His heart hurt at the thought. Sadness was leering its ugly head around to look at him. Naruto was trying to get accustomed to this… a world without Tirion. In all this time he had heard not a word from the Paladin, as if he wasn't there at all. But he could feel his presence. He could feel that faint sliver of pulsing Light behind the barriers of his heart.

The activity this Light had within him scared him. What was Tirion doing…?

XxxxX

Within the remnants of what was Tirion's soul, the man set the final piece of his spell in place. The sun beyond the horizon was nearly gone, only a faintness of what glory there was before now clinging to its end.

The night would soon fall… Tirion had no time left. Contrary to his belief of a few more years of lifespan, his power was fading far faster. He had no time…

He just hoped that things would work out. He just hoped that Naruto would one day forgive him… or at least understand him…

Tired old eyes gazed up at the darkened sky. The Ashbringer lied next to him on the soft grass, pulsing faintly with its own Light. Tirion kneeled down and picked the blade up, setting it in the middle of the circle he had created, preparing to begin a ceremony that would decide the future…

XxxxX

_**Omake: Chuck Norris**_

_**Facts about Chuck Norris, some Naruto related, some not. The ones that I came up myself will be marked with an (!)… don't expect much. But if you know who Chuck Norris is, then I'm sure you'll like this one =)**_

**Chuck Norris destroyed the periodic table, because the only element he recognizes is that of surprise.**

**If you have 100 yen and Chuck Norris has 100 yen, he has more money that you.**

**Chuck Norris can kill two stones with one bird.**

**Chuck Norris can roundhouse kick you in the back of the face.**

**According to the Second Mizukage's theory of relativity, Chuck Norris can roundhouse kick you in the face yesterday.**

**There is no 'ctrl' button on Chuck Norris's keyboard. He is always in control.**

**When the Boogeyman goes to sleep, he checks his closet for Chuck Norris.**

**Chuck Norris doesn't read books. He stares them down until he gets the information he wants.**

**Chuck Norris invented the "Round-house kick no jutsu" (!)**

**All of the Elemental Continent had offered Chuck Norris to be the ultimate Kage. He denied, for Chuck Norris is no shadow. His kicks will make you understand that. (!)**

**Chuck Norris doesn't wear a watch. HE decides what time it is.**

**There is no sunrise. The sun just starts to get up in the sky when Chuck Norris decides to wake up.**

**Chuck Norris doesn't sleep. He waits.**

**When Akatsuki offered Chuck Norris its leadership, Orochimaru was so offended that he left the organization.**

**When Orochimaru challenged Chuck Norris as to who is more evil, Chuck ate a bowl of children in front of him. Without milk. (!)**

**Pein wants to teach Chuck Norris pain. Chuck Norris is about to teach him 'Tolerance'. (!)**

**We weren't alone in the universe. That though stopped being the case when Chuck Norris went on a space expedition.**

**The reason the whole universe expands is that its simply trying to get away from Chuck Norris.**

**People call the Uchiha Massacre a tragedy. Chuck Norris calls it "Killing time" (!)**

**Naruto laughs at people. When he laughed at Chuck Norris… the rest is history (!)**

**Chuck Norris counted to infinity… twice.**

_**That's all for today. More facts are abound on the next chapter, if you liked them that is. If you would prefer a regular omake, no problem. Even though I don't have infinite Chuck Norris jokes… they are bound to end at some point ;p**_

_**READ AND REVIEW**_

_**(love)**_


	13. Chapter 13: How to Converse, with Style

**A/N: Ok ok, so this chapter is very much on the Humor side. I would make it bigger, but the things that are to come just don't fit with the rest of the chap****ter. Too gloomy and sad for this one, at least at some point. Alright, so the concept of this chapter, I tried to make as unique as possible. I sticked to some cliché scenes but tried to make them 'mine' as much as possible. The team arrangement was also a trouble, and after many makeovers I decided on the classic setting. It didn't turn as bad as I thought it would. The opposite, in fact. Now, I'm more than assured that most of you have seen these scenes over and over again in many fanfics… here, I tried to make a change. The scenes themselves are the same… the content is just a little different, at least as much as I could make it without making the reader lost.**

**Woot, long A/N =D Enjoy the chapter peeps.**

_**The Ashbringer: Shinobi of the Light**_

_**Chapter 13: **__**How to converse, with style.**_

It could be any regular day, really. Chirping birds, merchants running around preparing their goods, children having fun around the streets, people chattering the hour away… most would believe it was nothing special.

Most…

But not one Uzumaki Naruto. Grinning widely and prepared for anything, the young blonde walked towards the academy for maybe the last time. Today, he would get his team assignment, today, he would finally truly begin his career as a ninja of Konoha. It was a thrilling and scary idea altogether, but his excitement overwrote whatever worry dared appear.

Finally… after six years of hard work, he was finally here. How fast time seemed to pass. Those six years felt like yesterday. The time he had spent with Kiba and Hinata, all the things that had happened along the way, all the training he had done alongside Tirion and Kakashi alike…

He sighed, not really cheerful at the thought of Tirion as it was. The Paladin was only a flicker within his soul right now. Nothing more. He had no more time. He would be gone in a day or so maybe…

And what made his heart hurt even more was the idea that he was unable to meet him, at least for one last time. He hadn't seen him again since that last time that Tirion entrusted him with learning the spell of 'Redemption'…

But that was a summer dream now. And they both knew it. Without his guidance, Naruto was losing his path all the time, unable to put the pieces together, unable to comprehend what was truly needed.

He shook his head. It wasn't time for brainstorming. He would try and be cheerful. He would try and remember that old man with a smile on his face… always…

XxxxX

"What can I do for you today, my good sir?" asked a bald old man, wise eyes gazing at the newcomer. Said man simply sat down on a stool, occasionally glancing at the other patrons of the stand.

"One miso-soup…" he ordered.

"Please"

"Right away." The elder said with a smile. The younger man frowned under his cowl, examining the elderly carefully… as he did with the other patrons. Quite suspicious as his choice of wardrobe could be, none seemed to pay much attention. A pitch-black cloak like a starless night, a cowl that hid everything from view, even though one could probably see his eyes if he tried.

He also seemed to wear some kind of leather clothing… it was very likely that most would take him for a mercenary. Only they wore any kind of armor.

Oh, Samurai too, but that was another mater.

It didn't take long for his order to arrive, and he frowned even more at the food placed before him. The old man smiled again before leaving to attend to other customers.

The dark-dressed man simply stared his food down. After a few minutes of staring, and the food been grown a little cold, he leaned forward, taking in the odor…

"Ah… what a pity…" he said as he pushed the bowl aside.

Sitting up and exiting the store, he put his cloak aside to reveal a pair of identical swords…

Drawing them, runes embodied on the blade immediately began to shine with shimmering energy, a chilling aura seeping out of each sword…

He watched as one of the patrons within the stand started to grasp his head, as if an immense headache had stroke. The other patrons run to his aid, before they had a similar reaction…

Aiming one blade at the little stand, he let a sigh loose…

"**Howling Blast" **a mighty wind, colder than snow, stronger than ice, hit the store head on.

And there was nothing left, except for scattered frozen pieces of wood and flesh…

"I liked that store…" shame was evident in his voice. He didn't like what he was doing, but it was for the greater good, was it not?

They began to 'change' far faster than usual. When it usually took a couple of hours, now it was taking a mere half of it. He didn't like it. Didn't like it at all.

Seething his swords and hiding them from view, he made to leave the scene before someone took notice of him. Taking a piece of paper out of his pocket, he smoothly signed off the name of the area, preparing to head towards the next one…

Taking down all this damn infestation zones on his own was hard work. He really wished he had some of his knights with him…

Unhappy but compelled by his duty, Darion made his way for the next unlucky establishment…

XxxxX

"Oohhh, I really hope that blond… 'thing', doesn't end up in my team." Kiba commented, obviously pointing his words to none other than Ino, who yet once again for the last time, within the academy at least, fought with Sakura over who was going to sit next to the broody Uchiha. Sasuke, fan of neither of them, was saying nothing as usual.

Sadly, those two never seemed to notice that there where sits on _both _sides of the kid. Probably lack of brain cells. Yep.

"Who do you think you're gonna end up with, guys?" Kiba seemed pretty talkative today. Hinata and Naruto sat on either side of him, both looking at opposite directions. The Inuzukas' eye twitched… they had been like this for some time now, both shy and avoiding each other a little. No, he didn't smell anything weird… they where just nervous. A lot.

"Well, I'm most likely to end up in a powerhouse team." Naruto broke the momentary silence. "Most teams are like that, being a combo of either fighters, trackers, or jutsu specialists. I for one am a good fighter in close quarters. If they want a balanced team, we aren't likely to end up together…" he said these last words with regret, and both of his friend's could see the reason in that. Both Kiba and Hinata where more of a tracker, being Inuzuka and Hyuuga, and they were also _mostly _hand to hand fighters.

Very unlikely that they would end up in his team. Naruto would probably be put up with someone who can use offensive long-range jutsus and fight in melee at the same time, while the other member would take on more defensive duties, like scouting, healing, tracking etc. That was an efficient setup, at least in his mind.

Not that it pleased him. He really wanted to be with both Hinata and Kiba. A lot. They where his only friends… their cooperation would most likely be far better than how it would be if he had for example, Sasuke, a total prick, or say Sakura, a rabbit fan-girl, on his team.

By the time he made it out of his little world, Iruka had already entered the classroom and was preparing to distribute the students accordingly…

"Ok, ok, I know you've all been waiting for this. Through strife and hard work you have all managed today to bring forth a new generation of shinobi. Let us all hope that…" he kept talking and talking, most of it nonsense or prideful preaching about the virtues of a ninja. With a few words, nothing new.

"… and now that's out of the way, let me introduce you to your new teammates." By the time he had reached that point, Shikamaru had already fallen asleep. Lazy bastard, always doing nothing but snoozing around…

"Team 1 will be…" and so he began calling off names.

"… team 5, Sichi Sadako, Kyuuta Abimiya, Mitsuko Hieki…" weird names… oh well.

Naruto paid no heed to the call of team 6, his senses unfocused as he expected himself somewhere around team 9 or something.

"… Team 7, Uzumaki Naruto…" surprised at the slight irony of luck, he nevertheless turned to heed who else would be with him in the particular team. He hoped…

"Uchiha Sasuke" that made the blonde shiver in terror. He, with the stuck-up prick? The number-one brooder of all times? The Lord of Emos? Holy…

"Haruno Sakura." Naruto barely held himself from banging his head on the desk before him. Ok, he didn't expect to be put up with either Hinata nor Kiba, but this? Preposterous, insane!

And maybe a little sugar-coated, just to be on the safe side.

Arghh, what was he thinking?!

His near yells of protests where halted as Kiba put a hand on his shoulders

"Naruto… none of us is happy with this…" oh yeah, he could clearly see that teasing grin behind Kiba's words, just begging to come out.

"Team 8, Inuzuka Kiba, Hyuuga Hinata, Aburame Shino."

"Someone's gonna die…" Naruto brooded to himself for maybe the first time in a long run. There where plenty of times that he was disappointed with many things in his life, but this was worth screeching for.

Sakura did indeed screech. Though it wasn't one of horror. It was one of delight.

"Hahaha! Eat that you pig!" she pointed an accusing finger to Ino, who could do nothing but glare death at her rival.

Naruto noticed though, that Sasuke didn't seem all that delighted about this situation either, much like him. Well, that wasn't something new. Sasuke _never _was delighted about _anything_. He tried imagining the Uchiha with a way too happy smile on his face, dancing around wearing a dress amidst a valley of flowers.

Everyone looked up towards the familiar trio's position as Naruto burst out laughing. Kiba and Hinata began to laugh alongside him, though none was sure why.

Needless to say, most thought that this was their first step inside insanity.

Maybe it was.

Finally composing himself, Naruto sighed and paid no attention to the bewildered stares. This wasn't like himself at all, laughing at someone, imagining weird things and the such.

Not that he didn't like it. Peace of mind was very much welcome… even if it was twisted, a little.

"And finally, Team 10 with Akamichi Chouji, Yamanaka Ino and Nara Shikamaru." He closed the small notebook and set it aside

"Now I want you all to wait here for your sensei's who are bound to arrive in a few minutes." He smiled at his students, one last smile of a proud teacher who was bidding the latest patch of troublemakers goodbye. He smirked at his own thoughts.

"Have a nice day." And he walked out of the classroom, allowing the first teacher that was there to enter and pick up his team.

Naruto dropped his head, all complaints for his new position falling on deaf ears… not that he voiced them in the first place, though.

Hinata and Kiba where there to comfort him, at least. Well, Hinata did. Kiba was taking advantage of the oh so rare opportunity in teasing him.

XxxxX

**Somewhere between Fire and Lighting territories, in a small village called... wait, scratch the village.**

"You insolent son of a bitch!" one of them yelled in clear anger, glaring death at the robed man.

"Usually people refer to me as 'Richard', but thank you very much, comment appreciated." The man called Richard smiled back under his hood.

"Why did you kill them? What had my sons or this village ever done to you?!" he shouted in despair. A battalion of soldiers was now rounding around Richard, ready to seize him at a moments notice. All that they waited for was their commander's order.

"I asked for directions. They didn't know. Simple." He replied evenly with a shrug of his shoulders, as if the mayhem he had caused was a summer breeze.

"And you slaughtered everyone for that?!"

"Well, one of them also touched me."

The man grinded his teeth. "Seize him! You bastard is going to answer before the court of law… then we're going to behead you!" his words dripped venom.

Richard nodded "Very well, I'll play along. But…" he pointed one finger

"Rule number one: Do. Not. Touch me." He said as he pointed the extended finger at everyone around him.

The obvious commander barely held himself from either crying in despair or howling in rage.

"Shut your trap and follow!" he said, grabbing the Warlock by the shoulders.

A few seconds and a "Fwoosh" later, the man was reduced to nothing but a pile of ashes, the soldiers around him gazing in horror.

Richard just shrugged "He forgot rule number one."

XxxxX

"Great… I'm sincerely amazed by the plain greatness of it all." Even a deaf man could hear the sarcasm in these words. Two hours… two freaking, boring, life-killing hours.

And their sensei was yet to be seen.

How typical of Kakashi.

Why did _he_ have to be their sensei? That was the icing of the cake. Ok, so the man was fairly good at teaching, Naruto knew first hand, but a leading him and _two_, yes please mark it, _two _more idiots around?

Naruto just couldn't see that.

Kakashi was way too lazy for such stuff.

And here he was, sitting alone at the back of the class, waiting for said man to appear. No wait, he wasn't alone. There where too other 'things' in here as well.

Sakura, the rabbit fangirl. Please note that 'fangirls' aren't exactly humans. They lack the intelligence that's necessary for that category.

Sasuke, the Lord of Emos. If there was a 'Brooding' jutsu, Sasuke sure would be the master of it. Definitely.

He shook his head. His pupilage in the arts of the Light had taught him not to scorn or mock others, neither judge them so easily. But these too…

They just begged for it.

He was a Paladin, but he was a ninja too. He had the right to be a little out-of-the-way himself, right?

So… he was a paladin. So… he knew a few tricks that others did not. Why not make a little demonstration out of it…? To make Kakashi see just who he's dealing with exactly…

XxxxX

It was just like any other lousy day. And he didn't expect to accomplish much as it was. Maybe he would throw that 'black cat' excuse for starters… had Naruto heard that before? He couldn't remember.

The idea of him being a teacher bewildered him at some point. Then, after said point, it bored him to hell. Why?

Well, he wasn't a teacher yet, that is. All the teams that had tried, had also failed. None had passed the actual genin test. None had enough brain cells for it. He wondered if this team would be any different.

Opening the door, he kept in mind to check for chalk above him. Naruto had played that trick many times in the past…

Nope, all safe.

"Yo" he said simply as he walked inside, closing the door behind him and smiling at the room.

His single eye nearly bugged out at the image.

"Hello, Kakashi-sensei." Three voices said in a chorus. Kakashi rubbed his eye to make sure what he saw was real.

In the front row, Sakura, Sasuke and Naruto sat next to each other, having a way too retarded smile on their faces, eyes misty and unfocused and a body posture that just screamed seriousness to top it off. They sat erect with their hands joined, as if ready to pray or something.

"Wh…wh…" he tried to speak.

"We love you, Kakashi-sensei." They said in perfect unison, looking at him straight in the eye. It freaked him out…

He didn't know if it was the insanity of it all, or their words that made him sweat.

"S-Sasuke, Sakura, Naruto, what's going on?" he managed to say. They all titled their heads in curiosity, their timing more than perfect.

"What do you mean? We love you so much Kakashi-sensei. We love your mum too. And the dog… yeah, the dog. Rope maybe…" Kakashi thought about revealing his Sharingan, in case this was an Illusion or something.

Frowning at a fleeting idea, Kakashi simply threw a trio of shuriken at the out-of-space students…

They all puffed in clouds of smoke when the weapons made contact.

There where times that the Hatake really regretted ever teaching Naruto the Kage Bunshin…

And the incontrollable laughing that came from upstairs, resonating down the corridors and maybe for around a hundred meters around the academy, was probably Naruto rolling on the floor as the memories returned to him.

With a sigh and a silent anger rising within him, Kakashi shunsihed to the roof…

XxxxX

"Oh god… oh god… hahahahahah" Sakura and Sasuke both stood aside, watching Naruto roll around on the floor again and again, his laughter uncontainable nor hindered.

"What's so funny, baka?" Sakura asked, keeping away from the blonde. She didn't expect him to hear her anyway.

A breeze swiveled around them and they all, except Naruto, turned to look at the otherwise empty railing that now stood a man with spiky silver hair, a mask covering his face and a Konoha headband hiding his right eye.

It was Hatake Kakashi.

And he was angry.

Not wasting a moment and taking advantage of Naruto's disorientation, Kakashi summoned a simple Shadow Clone…

And then made him turn into Hinata.

In a bikini…

When Naruto rose from his laughter, eyes watery and the such, still chuckling, he turned to look at his bugged eyed new teammates and then at where they where looking.

Well… when Naruto saw what he saw…

The rest is history.

XxxxX

"You didn't have to do that, old bastard…" Naruto mumbled to himself as he wiped his nose yet again. That was a damn lot of blood…

Kakashi's smile was clearly evident under his mask. How joyful it was to play on others weaknesses.

"You know you asked for it." He said.

"I fell down from the freaking railing! From the damn fifth floor!" thankfully, Kakashi was fast enough to catch him before he hit the ground.

"It's not my problem if you can't contain your urges." Kakashi's smile was gone as he simply shrugged. Naruto though could clearly see a wide grin hiding behind these damn words of his… he could also feel his cheeks heating up.

He sighed, dropping the mater. The day was even. One and one.

"Alright, now that that's out of the way…" Kakashi turned to look at the other two as well, who had been quietly observing the confrontation. Sakura was grinning and Sasuke was smirking evilly… what he saw today probably amused him to some end.

"I want you guys to introduce yourselves, dreams, likes-dislikes and all. Money is also welcome." He said with a smile.

"But you already know me, Kakashi-sensei." Naruto said, brushing off the last comment.

"Your teammates don't. So why don't you start it off, Naruto?" Kakashi was really in the mood today. The blonde hated that.

He grunted. "My name's Uzumaki Naruto (duh), and I want to be an aspiring leader one day. My likes, well, Ramen, my friends Kiba and Hinata, making Kakashi's day a living hell (he smirked on that one) and… oh, being treated to ramen as well."

"I don't like Sasuke and Sakura. The rest of humanity, I think I can stand."

"Why don't you like your new teammates, Naruto?" Kakashi asked in wonder.

Naruto made a grimace "For starters, they lack IQ. A lot."

"Hey!" Sakura clenched her fists, but Sasuke seemed unaffected by the comment.

"What makes you believe you are smarter than them?" Kakashi pressed on.

"Well… I don't act like a fangirl over an asshole, and I'm not an asshole ignoring the world."

Kakashi could clearly see that things weren't that good here. Sakura was fuming in anger, but Sasuke's silent and impassive treatment of these comments seemed more dangerous than any rage Sakura could show. He had a lot of work to do here…

"You think Sasuke's an asshole… tell me, what brought you to that conclusion?" he asked again.

Naruto stared at him for a moment. "What are you? A Psychologist?"

"No, but that's what we're going to do for today. I want you to know your teammates and yourself better before we continue." He replied evenly.

The blonde could see the reason in that, even though he didn't like it.

"Sasuke… is always trying hard. I'll give him that. But he sees everyone else as inferior. Even though you Kakashi-sensei can kill him before he knows it, I think he sees you as a mere peasant as well only because he's an Uchiha. Sorry, let me rehearse. Dick is more likely a word for him."

Kakashi was bewildered for a moment at his choice of words. Naruto slimly let his mouth slip.

"Ok, enough from you for now. Sakura, your turn." He had read her file… this girl was a bookworm, not a ninja. He wondered what she was doing here in the first place… well, she was a woman, so he was more likely to have to teach her how to be agile. A female's natural agility was very handy, especially for medic nins. She had some potential in that field.

"Well, I'm Haruno Sakura (Naruto: Tell us something new)." She ignored him "My likes…" a meaningful glance at the boy next to her. He paid no mind whatsoever "my dislikes…" another glance at the blonde boy this time (Naruto: walk it off…) "My dreams…" yet another meaningful glance to the still uninterested onyx haired boy.

"Sasuke-Naruto-Sasuke… wow, what a combo." Kakashi said with a smile as the girl blushed wildly.

"Sasuke, your up." He wouldn't waste much time with Sakura now. She didn't give him much to work on anyway. He would have to work on that fangirlism of hers and turn to something useful…

Said Uchiha finally seemed to snap back in reality.

"I'm Uchiha Sasuke (Hail), my dreams… no, aspiration, is to kill a certain man (Who's the lucky fella?). I like nothing and dislike only things that get in my way (Like your brain?)" Naruto's whispered sarcastic comments went seemingly unnoticed, or at least Kakashi pretended not to hear them. Since when had Naruto began to speak in that way? Most of the time, the blonde would be silent and observant, not ready to throw a comment in.

Kakashi grunted as he tried to come up with a question for the boy.

"Ok, so Sasuke…"

XxxxX

"Are you sure that we should have let Richard loose out there?" Poll asked, worried to the bone. He was gazing outside the window, eyes unfocused to anything, not paying attention to the people that came and went in the street below.

"Worried about yer old friend?" Gorley said with a smirk. Poll sighed.

"I'm more worried about those that encounter him…"

"Relax. We'll go looking fer him tomorrow, just to make sure. I'm bored here anyway." Gorley said with another grin. The Naruto-Tirion case would have to wait. They had time…

"But how are we going to find him? This place isn't small…"

"Simple. Follow the corpses."

XxxxX

"… how do you know that?" Sakura was bewildered.

"Simple. If you think it this way…" Naruto explained.

Kakashi smiled under his mask yet again. These two where making some progress, unlike the always brooding one that sat between them. The dark aura he gave off was a definite contradiction to Naruto's bright presence.

"That's stupid…" her opinion didn't seem to affect him much. He just shrugged.

"Your opinion. Just don't say it out loud, he can hear you." He pointed a finger at the Uchiha. Sakura glared daggers at him in retaliation.

"Sasuke-kun is not stupid!" she defended.

"You're right. Sorry. The word stupid just doesn't touch the right caliber…" he pretended to think about what word would be more insulting.

"… will you knock it off…?" Sasuke finally commented after all his silence. For two hours now, he had endured Naruto's comments one after the other. And he had finally broken…

The triumphant grin on Naruto's face was proof of that.

"Your head? Gladly." He said, preparing a kick.

Sasuke simply leaned forward as the kick went right above his head. Neither Kakashi nor the boys took further action than that. All of them but Sakura knew that Naruto wasn't aiming to begin with.

"Watch your feet, you clumsy buffoon!"

"Shh! He doesn't like his real name." Naruto mocked yet once again.

And Sasuke really seemed ready to snap.

"Shut up, or I'll make you…" he threatened, back in his previous position.

"Oh yeah? How exactly?" the blonde grinned.

The Uchiha frowned at him. "Don't challenge me, dork."

"Because I have no chance of success against the all-mighty Uchiha? Ok then, Kakashi-sensei!" Kakashi turned his eye from his favored orange book to look at his pupil.

"You previously mentioned a genin test, right?" the man nodded. He had explained to them about the 'real thing' about an hour prior.

"Yosh! So tomorrow, if I do better than Sasuke, he will have to wear…" drum roll.

"PINK!" he shouted with a finger pointed to the sky and a fist to his heart. Everyone simply sweet dropped.

"… and if I win?" Sasuke looked more interested now. Hooked even. Kakashi's visible eyebrow rose as a realization downed on him.

"Then I, will keep Sakura off your back for a whole week." He said with pride.

Sasuke's face didn't show it, but his eyes shone with a definite satisfaction as he tasted the idea. A whole week, Sakura free. The girl, on the other hand had a far different opinion…

"Deal." He said, extending his hand. Naruto gladly took it and shook it vigorously.

"I never go back on my word, teme."

"Neither do I, dobe"

"At least we share something in common." Naruto said with a smile.

"Definitely not the brains." Sasuke commented with a smirk.

"Yep, yours aren't there to begin with." The blonde retorted easily, though Sasuke only smirked even more.

"Alright, alright, you three are dismissed for today. And remember, tomorrow at training ground 7, eight o'clock sharp. Don't be late… and don't eat breakfast."

The three had turned at him to listen to the reminder of his previous instructions.

"But, why no breakfast sensei?" Sakura asked with a pleading, innocent sad look on her face. It didn't work on Kakashi, though he did like it.

"Ah, you'll know when the time comes." He said and waved them off, disappearing in a whirl of leafs…

"Whatever" Sasuke simply said and began walking away, Sakura quickly in tow with him.

Naruto smirked at their fleeing backs. "You really are a little devil, Naruto." He heard Kakashi's voice from next to him. The blonde just nodded.

"Well, I'm glad it worked out." He said.

"Me too. Let's see how this goes." They stayed silent for a minute…

"Ramen?" the jounin suggested.

"It's one-one today." Naruto said.

Then the blonde felt that something was missing… something really important.

"Hey…" he looked down.

"What the!!" he screamed as a light flashed behind him. A clone of Kakashi threw a camera at the real one, then puffed in a cloud of smoke.

"That makes it two. Your treat." He smiled and vanished in a whirl of wind and leafs yet again.

"Hey! At least give me back my pants!"

XxxxX

It was late at night and Naruto finally made his way back home. This day was tiring, to say the least. Spending morning and noon talking with his new teammates and sensei, then going with said sensei for lunch (after finally finding his pants under a bush) and spending the rest of the day training or goofing around.

Ok, he felt a little worn out, but nothing big. He had seen worst.

Hey… wasn't that Sasuke?

Why was he running like that?

"Hey, teme! Where are you going at this time?!" he shouted.

Sasuke halted his movement to look back at the blonde.

"Haven't you heard? Baka… someone has stolen the scroll of sealing!" he replied, his voice hurried and his breath uneven.

"And that makes you run around why exactly…?" Naruto rubbed the back of his head.

"You fool, whomever manages to bring back this scroll is going to be praised for sure! I can finally prove them my worth by catching the thief!"

"And you think you can deal with a man who managed to steal such a thing under the noses of ANBU all by yourself? Heh, not even in your dreams." Naruto replied and began running towards him, then past him.

"What are you waiting for?! Come on! We got a thief to catch!" he yelled behind his shoulder. Sasuke stared for a moment, before he shook his head and hurried after the blonde.

Things where about to get wild…

XxxxX

**A/N: It's 1:50 AM in Greece right now and I'm too tired to think jokes up… so I went to a website and copied the ones I deemed good enough to be here. Enjoy =)**

_**Omake: Chuck Norris, Part 2**_

**1.****If Chuck Norris round-house kicks you, you will die. If Chuck Norris' misses you with the round-house kick, the wind behind the kick will tear out your pancreas**.

**2.** **In a fight between Batman and Darth Vader, the winner would be Chuck Norris.**

**3.** **Contrary to popular belief, the Titanic didn't hit an iceberg. The ship was off course and accidentally ran into Chuck Norris while he was doing the backstroke across the Atlantic**.

**4. Contrary to popular belief, America is not a democracy. It's a Chucktatorship.**

**5.** **Maslow's theory of higher needs does not apply to Chuck Norris. He only has two needs: killing people and finding people to kill**.

**6****. If** **at first you don't succeed, you're not Chuck Norris**

**7. Behind every successful man, there is a woman. Behind every dead man, there is Chuck Norris.**

**8.** **Most boots are made for walkin'. Chuck Norris' boots ain't that merciful.**

**9.** **The Bible was originally titled "Chuck Norris and Friends"**

**10.** **Chuck Norris can lead a horse to water AND make it drink.**

**11.** **Chuck Norris can judge a book by its cover.**

**12.** **Nothing can escape the gravity of a black hole, except for Chuck Norris. Chuck Norris eats black holes. They taste like chicken.**

**13.** **Chuck Norris does not own a house. He walks into random houses and people move.**

**14.** **Chuck Norris is the only person to ever win a staring contest against Ray Charles and Stevie Wonder at the same time.**

**15.** **Industrial logging isn't the cause of deforestation. ****Chuck Norris needs toothpicks.**

**16.** **Chuck Norris built a time machine and went back in time to stop the JFK assassination. As Oswald shot, Chuck met all three bullets with his beard, deflecting them. ****JFK's head exploded out of sheer amazement.**

**17.** **Chuck Norris uses a night light. Not because Chuck Norris is afraid of the dark, but the dark is afraid of Chuck Norris.**

**18.** **Chuck Norris once kicked a horse in the chin. Its decendants are known today as Giraffes.**

**19.** **Human cloning is outlawed because if Chuck Norris were cloned, then it would be possible for a Chuck Norris roundhouse kick to meet another chuck Norris roundhouse kick. ****Physicists theorize that this contact would end the universe.**

**20.** **Chuck Norris once went skydiving, but promised never to do it again. ****One Grand Canyon is enough.**

**Note: For some reason, I really liked number 16 =D**


	14. Chapter 14: Hide and Seek

**A/N: So some of you peeps asked my why the teams are set up this way? Naruto/Sasuke/Sakura, since Naruto is probably NOT the dead last and in par with Sasuke? Well, as you may have noticed, I am not going for the usual stuff. I'm trying to roll something new here. Some of you might be bored with the all so usual settings that pop around the corner whenever a fic reaches this point. Always the same damn things just written by a different author. I want to write cannon, but give it my touch as well. Naruto/Sasuke/Sakura is the actual Team 7, but I hope to achieve something more by putting them together. Not just what other authors have. **

**  
It's my game rolling here.**

**Anyways, I hope you enjoy the chapter. I'm not doing this only for myself, I do this for the readers as well =)**

_**The Ashbringer: Shinobi of the Light**_

_**Chap**__**ter 14: Hide and Seek**_

The forest was always awfully quiet during nighttime, as if nature itself took a break from the tiring activities of the day.

Today would not be so though. The aforementioned once tranquil forest was now disturbed by shouts and numerous footsteps that rang across its floor, as ninjas run here and there, searching, looking for something…

That something was bidding its time, staying hidden in the shadows, careful to avoid any noise.

So easy it was… so simply could he just sneak past all these panic-stricken Jounins… it made him want to laugh.

Keeping such emotions in check though, he held everything in and still waited for the perfect moment to arise…

XxxxX

"The jounin are swiping the whole western and eastern sides of the forest." Sasuke commented as he looked around, seeing shinobi flying at all directions.

"That's weird… the quickest way out of Konoha from the Hokage Tower is the north gate." Naruto said, heading straight for the mentioned building.

"But the Hokage's Monument is there. Do you honestly believe he could try escaping through _there?_" the Uchiha's tone was disbelieving. Contrary to popular belief, the Hokage's Mountain was called as such for a reason. Not only because of the faces of each Hokage on the front of the mountain but also…

"The catacombs…" he whispered to himself, and Naruto heard him.

"Yeah, he's probably going to try heading through there and out of Konoha."

"But, only denizens of Konoha know about this refuge…"

"Then we're probably dealing with a traitor, Sasuke."

Soon they found themselves before the staircase that led up to the mountain. They didn't waste much time as they jumped ten steps at a time.

"That's why the ANBU are scouring all the other sides. They don't expect betrayal…" Naruto commented as he took another flying step.

"Softies…" the blonde smirked at his teammate's comment… perhaps there wasn't that much of a gap between them as he had imagined.

"Alright, we're here. Sasuke, you got the Sharingan?"

"Not yet."

"Too bad." Naruto could see the Uchiha wasn't comfortable with this matter. He let it slip for now. Agitating one's allies right before possible combat wasn't smart.

They braced themselves as they took another step forward…

XxxxX

Followed…? Here?? Who could possibly have had kept trail with him? He had already caused enough diversion to the west and east gates, there was no _way _the ANBU would have managed to find him here.

Yet again, maybe he was underestimating this village a little too much.

He opened the gate hastily, stepping inside and closing it behind him. There should be a few barriers around here… ah!

He picked up the iron logs and placed them on the hitches of the door, sealing it from the inside. Now, this wouldn't hold an ANBU back for long but it would buy him some time, some precious time.

Picking in his pockets, he easily found the map he had stolen, the map that showed the layout of the whole tunnel system of this refuge…

Easy slice. With a triumphant smirk on his face, he moved forward…

XxxxX

"You saw that?" Sasuke whispered lowly. It took him less than a glance to see his blonde companion nod.

"Yeah, someone was there a moment ago…" casual footsteps brought him closer to the entrance, eyes wary for any traps that may had been laid out.

Sasuke was not as much patient though as he moved forward with long strides, hand reaching out for the iron door…

It didn't budge an inch when he pulled, neither when he pushed. The door was locked, in some way or another.

Naruto didn't need to try himself in order to come to this conclusion. He frowned in thought, trying to analyze their chances…

"Well, there's another entrance half a mile from here, but that would take us too long." He said, tightening his hands into fists as the only solution played out in his mind…

"Sasuke…"

"Gokakyou no jutsu!" a massive fireball shot out of nowhere, hitting the iron door head on. The powerful heat seemed enough to melt the concrete material…

But not completely.

Sasuke moved forward and aimed a chakra-powered kick to the weakened door. It budged heavily, but didn't fall. With a few more powerful kicks, the Uchiha brought the door down, it hitting the concrete ground with a loud metallic thud.

Naruto shook his head "You didn't have to use all that chakra up."

"No worries." He brushed him off as he stepped inside "You coming?"

The blonde only grinned in response as he followed suit behind his teammate…

XxxxX

One turn right, one turn left… only about a quarter of a mile before he reached the back evacuation exit. Pretty handy it came, for escaping that is. Grinning to himself, he shook his shoulders, trying to set the weight of the Scroll a little more comfortably. There would also be a large gathering room before he reached the last tunnel that led to the exit.

These tunnels where truthfully a work of art. Complex yet simple at the same time, they here perfect to conceive an enemy in pursue and allow one to escape out in the safety of the large forest that stretched for endless miles behind the backdoor.

The gathering rooms where splendid as well. Large enough to contain numerous people, windows formed high on the walls to allow light in and a ceiling tall enough to allow combat to be taken as well. It was more convenient when you could move around during a fight, that was.

But he doubted there would be much of a fight in here. He only had to take a few more steps…

"Katon:…" the rest of the words went unheard as his instincts immediately took over, his feet forcing his body out of the way on their own as a slew of small fireballs flew towards him with blazing speed… and heat.

He glared at the one who dared cast that jutsu, one hand putting the map back to safety and the other reaching in his weapon pouch…

His glare though turned into a victorious smirk as he realized just who where his attackers. The Uchiha prodigy of the year and that blonde brat that couldn't even get himself above last in the class.

It would be so easy, so damn easy, that there would be a day in the future that he would laugh about this situation.

Naivety is also a major cause of death in the ninja world…

XxxxX

"You shouldn't warn him of our presence so soon…" Naruto grunted as he took a fighting stance, preparing for whatever the man would throw at them now. The thief turned around to face them…

And both onyx and cerulean went wide at the sight.

"Mizuki…sensei?" was what the blonde whispered at the sight of his teacher. Ok, he knew that all his teachers besides Iruka where assholes, but this?

Sasuke was the first that went over the shock and grunt his teeth, preparing himself to cast another jutsu…

Mizuki smirked full of glee as he shot a few shuriken towards his former students. Both genin dodged the attack with ease. They knew that this was just a small test.

Naruto didn't allow surprise to hold him back anymore. With fists clenched and a wide grin on his face, he prepared to launch himself fully towards the traitor.

At last, at long last, he had the chance to take revenge on him for all these years of torment in that hell-bound academy. Naruto was not one to miss chances. Not the rare ones.

He would not hold back here. Not only because of his personal reasons but for Sasuke as well. There was no way he would take that teme's life on his neck as well here.

He called upon the Light…

Sasuke didn't take that much time to contemplate though. He rushed right forward…

He shot a few projectiles of his own towards Mizuki, who simply parried them all with a kunai, standing still and waiting for the Uchiha to come.

Major mistake.

While Mizuki was busy parrying, Sasuke had already completed the seals for his next jutsu…

"**Katon: Gokakkyou no jutsu!"** he was so close to Mizuki, that the man's chances of escape from this hit was slim to none…

Thus he was surprised when he felt the man's chakra flicker away from his fireball in a quick movement, appearing…

Behind him?

"Kawarimi…" Mizuki said with a smirk as he roundhouse kicked the surprised Sasuke to the head, sending the boy flying to the stone wall.

Naruto was fast enough to block Sasuke's fall with a shadow clone, keeping his companion from hitting the wall head-first and probably passing out. There was no luxury for that… even with his strength, Naruto doubted he could take him alone.

He never thought for a moment that someone skilled enough to steal such an important document would be a push-over.

And Mizuki proved them right, even though a quirked eyebrow showed his surprise at Naruto's knowledge over a jounin-level technique. The boy had some tricks up his sleeve, he would give him that much.

But it wasn't nearly enough…

The man quickly run through a set of seals as he whispered the jutsu to himself.

How that the blonde not thought of that since now? If you thought about it, it was kind of stupid to yell your jutsus out like an idiot…

The ground under his feet trembled, not a good sign. He immediately left his position, fleeing towards Sasuke's recovering form. Not a moment after his body left that spot, the ground exploded outwards, creating a stony cocoon where he once stood.

Mizuki didn't seem to like this dodge, but it didn't faze him either.

"You quite better than what you tended to show in the academy, demon…" he commented with a sly grin.

Truthfully, while in the academy, Naruto was only good in spars. Nothing else. Not that it mattered much though.

"Don't judge a book by its cover." The blonde smirked. That little plan he had made some time ago was working so nicely now…

Everyone, and that included _everone_, judged one by his grades. If you where a good student, you where a good ninja. But that was not the point here…

Sakura was a good student. Was she a good ninja too? Hell no. Naruto was a bad student. Was he a good ninja? He liked to believe so. He believed himself quite efficient in combat.

Too bad all his training had to come out now, in the real thing.

Mizuki smirked himself, arrogance and assurance sprayed all over his features. Naruto was holding himself back from laughing hard at that expression. How would he _love _to rub it off his face. With his own hands.

All this had taken less that a few seconds as Sasuke now stood right beside him.

"We can't take him out like that…" he whispered and Naruto nodded faintly.

"We have to hurry as well. He can simply run down that tunnel and seal the entrance whenever he wants…" Naruto pointed out.

Sasuke smirked as an idea popped in his mind "So here's the plan dobe…"

XxxxX

"What are you midgets blabbering about?" Mizuki wasn't one for patience, and these brats where wearing his thin. He didn't have time to screw around, he had to leave _now_, or the ANBU would catch up really soon.

With that in mind, the rogue chuunin prepared one of his large shuriken, explosive notes laid everywhere on the metal weapon's surface…

XxxxX

Sasuke frowned as he saw the weapon. He had a very vague idea of what Mizuki was planning to do with it. Either bury them alive, or blow them to pieces.

Of course, he wouldn't let either happen.

Fire jutsus were uncalled for though, just so that he wouldn't set the notes off and kill everyone, including himself.

Thankfully, the plan didn't have any flames in it.

"Go, now!" he whispered to his blonde teammate and Naruto nodded in response, setting his fingers to form a cross…

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" he yelled and ten clones sprang to life. Sasuke gaped wide-eyed for a moment…

"Where the hell did you learn that?!"

"You said 'Distraction'…" Naruto didn't turn to face him, a smirk on his face.

"Well here you have it." All ten Naruto's cheered as they rushed towards Mizuki, the man visibly sweating as he thought of what to do next.

He used the large shuriken to block and counter, but never released it from grip neither did he ignite the notes. He was waiting for something…

Regardless, Sasuke didn't waste anytime in completing his part as he rushed forward in between the clones, easily jumping above them and behind Mizuki who managed to notice the Uchiha amidst the chaos the blondes created.

The chuunin gripped a kunai and threw it at the onyx haired teen who simply titled his body to avoid it. The man noticed that he didn't use his hands at all…

And then felt his body movements being restricted by an invisible force…

The deem light that entered from the high windows allowed him to see the reflection of wire… ninja wire, around him. He cursed himself for not seeing this coming. Of course a bunch of idiotic, clumsy clones would be a distraction. A distraction meant to give Sasuke time to ensnare him.

Simple. But effective.

He gritted his teeth, trying to push his way out of Sasuke's grip.

It would be fairly easy to muscle his way out of this trap, considering the difference he and the boy had in size.

What wasn't easy though, was to escape from under an army of clones that seemed to descend from the sky and right onto him…

That's what happened, anyway. Naruto had spawned another handful of those damn copies.

Mizuki glared death at the two teens who clapped each other's hands, congratulating each other on a job well done. Oh how he wished he could just get a kunai and shove it down their throats…

XxxxX

Sasuke was reluctant to show his enthusiasm at their success. Naruto could see and understand that much. He wasn't the open type. Shrugging, he turned to Mizuki and smirked evilly.

"Now, now… you have something we want dontcha?" he now grinned widely as he faced the downed Chuunin who struggled (vainly) to overpower the clones that held him down.

"Don't worry Mizuki-_sensei_" he spat the word "We're not going to do anything. I'm sure Ibiki will be more than willing to have some playtime alone with you." the man, Ibiki, had once visited the academy and narrated them about what the Interrogation and Intelligence Gathering department of Konoha was and what was its purpose, etc etc.

He would forever shudder at the image of Ibiki's sadistic grin when he spoke about how he tortured his victims…

Mizuki spat on the ground, as far as he could at least.

"You think this is over, brat? You think you got me?" he chuckled, then the chuckles turned to laughter. Naruto just poked his ear.

"You sayin'?" Kakashi might have been rubbing off on him… not good.

Mizuki controlled himself "Under here" obviously the pile "is both the scroll and two explosive shurikens that could bring down this whole room. You can't get the scroll while I'm trapped, and if I get my hands free even for a moment, its over." The smirk on his face was an overconfident one.

And Naruto had obviously paled. He hadn't considered that. But…

"Hmm… alright, let's chop off his head then. What do ya think?" he pointed the question to his teammate.

Sasuke smirked, seeing where this was going.

"I don't know… that's too quick. Let's tie his hands, beat him to a pulp and then chop of his head. _Slowly…"_ the Uchiha looked as if he was enjoying some thought that passed through his mind. The Chuunin shivered. Since when where kids this sadistic…?

"Or we could set him on the wall, cut of a few limbs, make him eat dirt, cut his throat open and then burn him alive with a fireball?" even their stomachs twisted at this image. But they kept up their fake grins, just till the right moment…

"Yeah, that sounds good. Okay!" Sasuke looked delighted at this. Mizuki could feel his hands tremble with fear. He didn't want to die, he didn't want to die, not yet!

"Alright, alright! I surrender! I surrender!" he said and one of the clones dispersed, allowing Naruto to know that he had indeed relaxed his muscles, giving up his struggle.

Both teens grinned with satisfaction, this time real.

XxxxX

After they tied the Chuunin up, Sasuke sent a fireball up at the sky, indicating their location. ANBU where sure to arrive soon.

The defeated look on their former sensei's look was priceless. They, together, had defeated a real ninja… and they weren't even official genin yet!

Sasuke didn't hold back in bathing in his smugness, congratulating himself again and again about this feat.

Naruto paid him no mind. He had come to understand that smugness and Sasuke where the one and the same.

"Oh, Sasuke, mind disarming those Shuriken? We don't want them blowing on accident." Naruto pleaded, and Sasuke obeyed with a 'che', murmuring about useless dobes.

Naruto grinned at this. At least he wasn't complaining openly like he normally would.

Draw in their little worlds, both failed to notice the dark smirk on Mizuki's face…

"Well, it seems that I've failed my master… Orochimaru-sama won't be pleased…" his voice sounded reluctant, sad, but delighted altogether.

"If I'm going to hell, I'll make sure to take you two brats with me as well!!" he shouted and laughed, laughed like there was no tomorrow.

Both teens looked at him as if he was crazy before hearing the low 'ssss' sound that came from the side.

Their minds barely managed to notice the explosive notes being set off, shocked as they where.

And Sasuke was right next to them.

Fearful onyx turned to look at cerulean, the same emotion bathing within those sky-blue depths.

"SASUKE!!"

The explosion was so deafening, so strong, that Naruto didn't see anything before the world turned black…

XxxxX

"Did you hear something?" Kakashi said as he looked up from his cards, a lone bored eye looking at the green beast of Konoha. Gai was obviously sweating for some reason.

"The only thing I can hear, my dear rival, is the thumping of my mighty heartbeat as I'm about to crush you under…" "Royal Flush." Kakashi said and dropped his cards on the small table. Gai gaped wide eyed at the hand before tossing his own cards aside and blabbering about what a wonderful opponent his eternal rival was.

Kakashi, on the other hand, had already tuned him out as he shifted on his seat, an uncomfortable feeling settling within him… as if something was going wrong. Terribly wrong.

It had to be something other than Gai.

XxxxX

"And just who the fuck are you?" the woman spat angrily. Purplish hair held up in a spiky bun, a light brown trench coat along with shinobi pants and sandals, a fishnet shirt all that covered her upper body, leaving little to the imagination.

Her choice of wardrobe didn't seem to be what amused the man before her though, as he chuckled sinisterly.

"I…" he began, and thunder rolled on the background.

"am Richard, Chief Warlock of the Brothers of Darkness, Lord of the Thirteen Hells, Master of the Bones, Emperor of the Black, Lord of the Undead, Lord of Dance, Mistress of Magma…" he took a breath, holding out a tour guide.

"…and the Mayor of a little village up the coast"

"Very scenic during springtime, you should visit sometime."

"So, your name's Richard?" the woman asked, bewildered and confused. Anko did not like being confused.

"You where supposed to pay attention to everything _after _that part…" he said, indifferent.

"Sure thing, _dick._" She smirked.

"You very awfully remind me of a certain smartass…" the Warlock commented, his hands on fire…

Anko was quick enough to dodge the incoming flames, losing only her coat in the process.

"Shit! My coat!" she groaned.

"Walk it off, you pussy."

"You fucker tried to burn me alive!"

"It's a preferable way, yes. Dead people don't scream, unfortunately."

XxxxX

Why did everything feel so… soft? Like he was touching a pillow, maybe a feather filled one. Soft and warm...

He tried to open his eyes, slowly realizing that the world around him was dark, whether he had said eyes open or not. Gazing around, he was surprised to hear the cracking of stone, the smell of dirt and scorched earth reaching his nose. What was going on…?

Oh yeah. He remembered. He had activated his 'Divine Shield' on impulse, saving himself from the explosion that would otherwise blow him to pieces.

But what had happened to Sasuke?

Naruto's fear reached its peak as he realized his new teammate was probably buried under tones of rock. Dead.

Squashed into nothingness, Sasuke had found an end that he hadn't expected in the least. And the scroll… tears prepared to run down his eyes…

He had failed. Both his teammate and his Kage.

He had failed.

"Oh come on, it isn't worth crying now is it?" he heard a vaguely familiar raspy voice. He could have broken his neck with the speed he wiped around to see the one that spoke.

None other than the dwarf Paladin…

"Gorley…" he didn't know if he should sound surprised or angry. Or anything at all.

"Don't worry about yer little friend." He said, clapping something on his shoulders.

It didn't take long for Naruto to realize this 'something' was probably Sasuke's unconscious body.

"Wh… the… wh…" he was at a loss of words.

Gorley laughed heartily as he let the Uchiha rest on the floor.

"Tirion hasn't taught you the Hand of Protection yet, has he boy?" he laughed again "That old fool!" it sounded nothing like an insult, the wide grin the dwarf had said that much.

"Hand of… what?" Naruto was confused, relieved, sad and all this in a weird mixture of emotions that swirled within him. He had little to no comprehension over the man's words.

"It is similar to your Divine Shield boy. It protects one from any kind of harm for a few valuable seconds. Not from magic though… jutsus, if you will." He smiled as he patted the onyx haired boy, who didn't respond in any way.

"You're a lucky idiot, that I and Poll trailed yer asses here. You would both be dead now and the scroll would be lost as well." He said, grinning and pointing a thump behind him where Poll seemed to study said huge scroll, a thoughtful expression on his features.

"Wait, isn't it forbidden to read it?!" Naruto yelled after a moment. Poll didn't even flinch as he looked up from his readings.

"It is. But no one has to know I sneaked a peak, right?" he smiled and returned to reading silently.

"But how did you get us out of the collapsing rubble?" Naruto asked after a moment. Just how fast where this two, in order to be able to rescue both the two of them and the scroll all in one go?

"Tirion hasn't talked to you about mages either, has he?" the duo grinned at the boy who shook his head in denial.

"Well, we have a lot to talk about then, boy."

"Oh, and sorry about the other day." Poll said as he sheepishly rubbed his head. Naruto only sighed in response.

XxxxX

"What the hell is going on…?" his head was dizzy and his sight blurred for a moment. The world seemed to twist around him in every angle, as if the earth was made of jelly. He gripped his head and supported his weight on the wall, glad that the concrete was sturdy enough.

His blonde teammate turned his head around, grinning widely at him "We just won an epic battle, that's what's going on!" he said cheerfully. Sasuke looked him up and down for a moment.

"You hit your head?"

"No, I'm perfectly fine. Why would you ask?" that cheerful, carefree tone again. It twisted the Uchiha's stomach in more ways than one.

Grunting, he let silence take over. It was easier for his head that way.

Naruto returned to what he was previously doing, studying the forbidden scroll that was. This document contained many a valuable tricks of the trade, tips on how to use jutsus more effectively, high-rank powerful yet risky ones or even assassination techniques. It was perfect!

He was already making a mental copy of it all. Being able to access your own mindscape came in handy in many ways.

"What are you doing…?" he had seen him reading something. How he read in this deem light, he would never know.

Maybe it was the reason he had that shit-eating grin on his face as well.

"Nothing." He said childishly and kept on with his business. Sasuke sighed and didn't push the matter. Naruto seemed to have lost his brain somewhere along the fight.

By the way… how the hell had they survived anyway?

He guessed that asking the blonde would be too much right now. He was too absorbed in what he was doing anyway…

Wait… he had no wounds as well… ok, so they where good enough to beat the chuunin up, but he remembered having a few scratches here and there. Now, his body felt completely fine, as if he had just woken up from yet another night in bed. Minus the headache.

So many questions… he cursed himself for ever waking up…

XxxxX

It didn't take long for the two to find their way out of the tunnel system, trailing the way backwards from where they came. Both teens smirked at the still fallen iron door as they stepped out into the night, the black sky hanging above them, the fresh air a delicacy for their suffocated noses. It smelled like crap in there…

"…naruto…!" they heard in the distance. What was going on?

"…Sasuke…!" it wasn't just one. Numerous voices where echoing throughout the forest in search for them. They both shrugged at each other and walked forward towards the source.

"Naruto-kun!!" the blonde would recognize that voice everywhere, tinted with fear and worry as it was. It made his features grin and his heart ache at the same time. He didn't know why.

"Oi! I got their scent over here! It's rather…"

"Shut up Kiba." Naruto complained as the Inuzuka was practically yelling right next to them, not having noticed their presence being so close in between his yells.

Needless to say, the moment the words left his mouth he was pounced to the ground.

By his two friends that was.

Sasuke on the other hand had the pleasure of being ambushed by a very frantic Sakura. If you could call it 'pleasure', that was.

While the trio of idiots wrestled on the ground, Sasuke barely managed to get Sakura off him before she bit his head off, out of love of course.

"Come on guys! Get off of me!" Naruto said in between fits of laughter. His long-time friends where probably trying to suffocate him. But he would die happy, at least.

Finally they relented as they dropped the blonde and slowly stood up, laughing at his messed up image and dusty clothing. He grunted as he dusted himself off.

"I saved the village from total annihilation and that's what I get… great." He said with sarcasm and all laughed.

"You baka! How dare you go out there on your own!" Kiba was grinning as he threw a punch Naruto's way, who sidestepped it and launched one of his own. Kiba parried and retaliated…

"We wanted to have some fun too!" he said and laughed.

"How did you know we where out here anyway?" Naruto asked as he stopped another of Kiba's punches and dropped the match, letting his stance loose.

Kiba pointed a thump to the glued Sakura "Me and Hinata where going to call you over for some dinner together when we found Sakura running around screaming" "I wasn't screaming!" she objected "Alright, screeching around about you and Sasuke running off to find the thief of some kinda scroll." He explained and breathed.

Naruto grinned as he patted the item on his back.

"Holy crap! Dude, you actually stopped him?!" Kiba was clearly awestricken. Naruto nodded "Yeah, me and Sasuke taught him a lesson he will never forget." He laughed and rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment, a trademark action for when he felt shy enough.

"Awesome! Now you can get a fat reward for stopping the rogue and treat us all to dinner!" he grinned more widely as Naruto's expression turned into one of annoyance.

"Like hell would I pay for your meal… you'll drop hair in my food." He commented and smirked when he noticed Kiba's temper flare.

"What did you say?" the Inuzuka pounced and Naruto laughed as he tossed the scroll towards Hinata, who stumbled yet managed to catch it despite the fact that the item was nearly her size. By the time she looked over the document, Kiba and Naruto where already chasing each other around.

"He's an idiot…" Sasuke commented, finally managing to keep Sakura off bite-distance.

'_But he's my idiot…' _Hinata smiled but didn't voice her thoughts. She didn't dare voice them, not here, not yet.

XxxxX

"Well, well, who would have expected this?" Sarutobi's smile was clearly reaching his ears. He patted the forbidden scroll and grinned back at the group of young nins.

"Quite the achievement you have done today, both of you." He nodded towards the two in the front who nodded back.

"But saddened I am that Mizuki chose this path…" he sighed and puffed his pipe, placing the scroll behind his desk, probably to hide it again later on, somewhere safer this time.

"Anyways, Naruto, Sasuke, you have both done an excellent job today in keeping Konoha's secrets safe. For that, I will pay both of you a sum equal to an A rank mission." Naruto barely held his grin from reaching his ears. Sasuke looked bored.

As Sarutobi handed them the money, Sasuke stared them down for a few moments.

"Take it." He said and tossed the small pack towards his teammate. Naruto looked at him wide-eyed for a moment. "But Sasuke, that's your reward! It isn't fair…"

"Do I look like I need money, dobe?" Sasuke glared at the blonde who sighed and shook his head.

"Good. See you tomorrow then." And with these words he walked off, leaving four stunned teens behind. Count three as Sakura quickly recovered and run after him.

Sarutobi shook his head, not able to help the smile that touched his lips once more. Sasuke was so easy to read… if you knew where to look, that was.

"Alright guys, guess I _am_ treating you tonight!" he said with a wide grin towards his friends. Kiba seemingly drooled and Hinata giggled. Maybe it was the spur of the moment, maybe something had possessed her, but Hinata nonetheless leaned forward and pressed a soft kiss on the blonde's cheek, resulting to a yet again stunned blonde. She fight hard not to blush from embarrassment herself. Thankfully, Kiba had noticed nothing as he salivated over what he was going to eat. The Hokage seemed indifferent.

"T-that's my congratulations, for your good job, that is." She smiled innocently and quickly turned around, walking outside with Kiba swiftly behind, probably on instinct. Naruto stood still for a moment before touching his cheek, smiling at himself, then the Hokage, and run after his friends. Well, one friend, to tell the truth. Hinata was probably something more already...

The Hokage smiled once again. Hiruzen was an old man that had lived many things in his life. Yet he still couldn't stop being amazed by young people…

XxxxX

Bold… try and be _bold_.

She mentally encouraged herself over and over, repeating the mantra like a lifeline. Naruto didn't seem to notice anything as he chatted with Kiba about what they where probably going to face in the real-deal tomorrow. She had drifted her own mind to a place much further away though…

They where about to begin their careers as ninjas now. They where going to be out there in the field one day, fighting for their lives and the lives of those they wanted to protect. Those precious to them. And when you where out there in the battlefield, it was victory or death, most of the time.

How much more time would she have with him? How much time would her training under Kurenai-sensei take up? What would happen after they became actual genin?

Was there time? Was there a chance? She wondered… pondered, and rolled the thought around in her head, trying to find something satisfying.

None came to mind. There wasn't as much as they wanted to believe.

Today even, the blonde had risked his life to catch a rogue. She had seen the tunnel collapse with her Byakugan, she had seen everything happen and even felt it. Through him, through their connection via the Light. She had felt the fear, the sorrow, the anger, the satisfaction, all these emotions mixed amidst the field of combat that was Naruto's soul.

She had felt him using his 'Divine Shield', so she knew that he had survived the collapsing. But how had Sasuke escaped…?

She let that thought linger for just a moment more before turning back to her previous thoughts.

A glance at the blonde let her know that he still had his attention turned to Kiba.

How much more time was there, really…?

XxxxX

"Paahh! I'm stuffed…" Kiba murmured in satisfaction. He had managed to down ten whole bowls of ramen. Naruto remained relentless on his record of twenty one and a half though.

Hinata had taken only one. She was pretty sure that her friend's would love to celebrate again when they all became real genin, so there was no need to be greedy now, was there?

"Thanks for the meal, Ayane-nii-chan! Teuchi-ojii-san!" Naruto said and put down the stack of Sasuke's reward, probably enough to pay for them all.

Teuchi counted the money and was surprised from the amount "Well, well, you finally earned yourself some coin, eh Naruto?" he grinned and gaze him back his change. Naruto grinned widely and nodded "Yep!" he didn't elaborate further as he waved goodbye and stepped outside, Kiba and Hinata following suit.

"Phew! Thanks man! I really needed some good food today." His tone was laced with bliss as he gently rubbed his stomach. Hinata wondered how did he not feel uncomfortable with so much food in there…

"No worries, Kiba. It was on me today. It will be on you tomorrow." He grinned and Kiba gave him a laugh and a friendly punch on the shoulder "Yeah, sure thing. And maybe Hinata will fall in love with Sasuke." He said and laughed even harder when he saw his friend glare at him, a little blush accompanying. She _knew_ that he was doing it on purpose.

Naruto grinned and laughed himself "Nah, Hinata's too smart to fall for a chicke-head." He assured and the girl lowered her head now in embarrassment. Kiba chuckled as he began walking away.

"Alright guys, I'll be off then. G'night." He waved and started walking down the street. Naruto waved himself and started walking the opposite direction.

Hinata glared at Kiba's shaking from withheld laughter back and was sure that he was doing this on purpose as well. She knew damn well that his house was the _opposite _way. She wondered how Naruto could not notice, since they had all been leaving from the same way when they got off Ichiraku's. For a long time now.

Or had he, and was just pretending…? Damn you, Kiba…

XxxxX

"Well, I'm dead tired for one. Kicking ass this late at night ain't good for one's health you know." He commented dryly. She smiled as he flexed his hands, stretching muscles and such. He could be such a show-off at times…

"You could try kicking the hay for a change" she smiled even more widely and he grinned back. "Nah, just some holy Light to heal myself and I'm ready to roll, brand new." He smiled and gave the thumps up. She giggled in response.

They had finally reached the entrance to her home, the prestigious Hyuuga compound. Truly, its size never seized to amaze Naruto beyond belief. He's own block of flats was merely a quarter of what grounds the Hyuuga took! But now you'll say, it's a whole damn clan, they have to live somewhere.

And it pained him to see Hinata walking inside this house, every time they parted. It felt like saying goodbye each and every time She thought he didn't know, she thought he didn't understand what was going on behind these walls, what pain she was experiencing when she walked in there. He could feel it, see it in her eyes, hear it in her words. He didn't need the Light to know that she was sorrowful in there.

She also greatly reclined to speak of the few days she had left the academy and him alone for some obscure reason. Every night, every painful night that came and went, he could feel it. He could imagine her sobbing in a velvety blue silk mattress, crying for things that she had not, crying for things that she yearned for…

The smile she wore now though, that gentle expression that she held here, outside, for him. That was an expression he always wanted to see on Hinata. He wanted her to be happy. She deserved it.

"Naruto-kun, I think it's time to…" her words slowly died in her throat as they both noticed how close they actually where. He could just lean in and…

"Tsk, tsk" someone snickered "Touchy moment." both children froze at the new voice. It was chilling, low, threatening. Deadly…

Both of them managed to dodge at the last moment as a wave of frost and snow shot right at their positions. Naruto glared upwards to their attacker and his eyes nearly bugged out at the sight.

"A… a…" he couldn't force out the word.

"Who are you?" Hinata asked before the blonde could finish his broken sentence. The man smirked under the dark hood that concealed most of his face, his dark armor glimmering in the moonlight. Hinata's Byakugan flared as she prepared herself for combat…

Yet what she saw shocked her beyond belief. So much, that Naruto had to push her away from the man who came descending from the sky, his sword slashing the ground with bestial force.

"Dead men tell no tales…" the man chimed and turned to face them again. Naruto grinded his teeth as he mumbled a spell…

The man simply titled his body to the side as the surge of Light shot by him, hitting nothing. Naruto cursed… his aim never was off.

"Just give me the sword boy, and it will all be over…" he said, motioning the blonde to come closer. Naruto did anything but obey, pushing the still shocked Hinata away from the assailant.

"He's… he's…" she mumbled "He's_ dead…"_ she managed to say. Truthfully speaking, she could see his 'chakra' as a concentrated, purple force within his body, rather than the light blue rivers that usually flowed within ones system. She couldn't make out any heartbeat nor any body factions…

The man was freaking _dead._

Naruto nodded, not as much surprised as she was.

"He's a Death Knight…"

XxxxX

"Foolish little Paladin-wanna-bes…" he chuckled darkly, his hand extended and fist clenched. Hinata's hands shot for her throat as she felt something blocking her very breath.

The man ducked to avoid an ethereal golden hammer as it flew right above his head. With a snicker, he gripped his blade and slashed full-force towards the blonde interrupter of his fun. Naruto dodged the attack to the side, already chanting his next spell…

The man's one hand extended again as a wave of coldness shot out…

Naruto felt his mind go numb for a moment. He felt the whole world around him growing dizzy and disoriented for a few seconds. It felt as if he had just downed a bottle of ice and his very brain was freezing.

The death knight seemed intent on taking advantage of this as he went for the boy's head.

Yet he felt his whole body freezing, growing numb and weak under an unbelievable weight. He glanced at the side to see that blue-haired girl panting, glaring at him. He grunted as he fought the power back, braking the spell.

"Your hammers are useless… you're just kids. Now, for the last time, hand me over the sword!" he growled at Naruto, who seemed to recover from his haze, only to glare at the man.

He smirked at the unrelenting look in the boy's eyes. That's what he wanted in the first place… to see this look being buried to the ground, to see his despair flare under these confident gaze.

Hinata saw the energy within his body surge outwards once again as he launched another spell.

Yet this time neither of them had time to react as a purple hand of power flew for the girl and violently threw her towards the death knight's awaiting hands…

The man grinned wickedly as he set his sword in place to impale her. Hinata had no time to dodge, Naruto was too far to intercept her path…

The sound of flesh being pierced hovered in the air for a moment.

XxxxX

_What should I do… there's so little time…_

_Time, time…it's always about time, is it not?_

_How should I know… I don't know…_

_She's going to die. Vanish. Lost. Never found again._

_**Do… it…**_

… _Tirion…?_

_**Do it, Naruto…**_

_No… I can't lose… I can't lose both of you!_

_**Worry not about an old, dying man my boy. Worry about a young life about to be lost…**_

_I can't! You… her… what's the choice! What can I do?!_

_**Take on… grasp… your destiny…**_

_What is my destiny?_

_**Paths concealed by darkness… travel them, find the light…**_

… _where will I find that light?_

_**Inside you, my boy… your heart, your soul… the light is everywhere… embrace it…**_

_Embrace the light…_

_**Make it your own…**_

_Guide it will my hand._

_**Down the right path.**_

_But what is the right path?_

_**That is… for it to know… and for you to learn later on.**_

_You're breaking the mood here…_

_**Enough… grasp the blade, Naruto… use it. Call upon it and it will heed…**_

_But you will die!_

_**No Naruto… I will always be there, in your heart…**_

… _Tirion…_

_**Go now… Ashbringer…**_

XxxxX

Seconds. Mili-seconds. Somewhere along those lines, something within Naruto snapped as he shot forward…

The death knight's sword indeed hit its mark. In the last possible moment, Naruto had jumped in the way, finding himself in the way of the sword and blocking a killing blow to Hinata…

Yet letting himself being killed in her place.

The man chuckled as he grabbed the blonde's unmoving body and threw him aside. Hinata's eyes where wide with shock as what had just happened dawned on her. Naruto… the death knight… no…

Instead of fear, instead of despair, instead of rage, there was only the void. She didn't feel anything as the man slowly approached, probably to take her life as well. All she could see was Naruto's fallen form… all she could think about was to scream at him to get back up…

All she wanted was to join him, wherever that would be. Heaven or earth… it didn't matter.

Nothing seemed to matter anymore.

XxxxX

"Tsk" he grunted. The silent anger burning in her eyes was annoying. He wanted to wipe those damn tears off her face… along with the rest of it.

She had suddenly sprang up and faced him with puffy redness around her lavender irises and tears running none stop down her cheeks. Wow, that was some damn deep shit love she had there. Most midgets didn't get _this _sad or enraged when a loved one fell.

Not that he cared. The more the pain, the more the satisfaction.

His gleeful grin intensified as she vainly tried to Jyuuken her way around. The Light wasn't strong enough for him, and she thought that some lousy ninja technique could bring him down?

Amusing, the naivety of a kid, that was.

But there was as much amusement he could get out of something like that before it became annoying. She had actually made his fuckin' hands numb with all these chakra strikes. He felt his sword getting heavier…

It was very easy to parry her tiny palms with either his sword. His hands where out of question as he knew that as lousy as the Jyuuken was (in his opinion), it still was annoying to have your hands numb.

He used an open opportunity and kicked her in the abdomen, sending the girl flying into a wall. The crush was music to his ears. Her pained yelps and gasps for air the high of the song.

He extended one hand, the purple colored hand of death reaching out and this time slowly pulling her towards him. He held her to eye level, bathing in the glory of her agony.

He almost felt bad that he hadn't taken the sword from the blonde… oh well. At least it had vanished along with him. And now it was her time…

Pulling his sword back, he prepared to finish this once and for all and get damn over with it.

Too bad though, he's plan wasn't to come true as a shockwave of power hit him in the side. He lost control of the hand, letting the girl drop and he was crushed head-first into the wall of the Hyuuga mansion.

Looking up, he glared at the damn brat. How the fuck could she cast such a powerful spell when he had her restrained and tired?

No wait, it couldn't be her. Her powers were nowhere near the level of the attack.

Glaring at the side this time, where the blonde had fallen, his eyes widened in sheer amazement, fear, and another mixture of emotions that one couldn't possible comprehend.

There was no Naruto on that spot anymore.

XxxxX

The man before them was dressed in a red-black armor, the legging hiding his feet like a robe would, white lines running down the armor with inscriptions on them…

Shoulder-plates made of gold with red outlining, the emblem of a scale on each side, small decorating daggers on top of each shoulder. Inscription lied there as well.

A black-red hood hid his face while an iron mask made of the same colors as the rest of the armor concealed his features. Where the eyeholes should be, only blazing light shined through.

Black clothing concealed his forearms and gauntlets protected his hands. A pair of plate boots held his feet firmly on the ground.

But what amazed the death knight, and scared him beyond belief, was not the armor the man wore.

It was the weapon he carried.

_The Ashbringer…_

XxxxX

So much… power… it was… intoxicating…

He had never wielded so much strength in one go before. Never had he felt such cleansing might course through his veins, like the pulse of the Light itself. Every part of this armor, of the blade itself, felt like an extension of his body. It felt as if it was _him_, not something apart.

_Redemption._

_Cleansing_

_Might_

_Protection_

_Retribution_

_Sanity_

_Tranquility_

_Those who step into the Light know true strength. Those that cower from its gaze know only despair._

Such were the inscriptions that scarred his armor. Such were the blessings that the Light gave.

He glared through his helmet at the now standing death knight.

He couldn't do it before, but he could now. He could feel the taint in the man's soul, the corruption of darkness. This man was the enemy…

"**You**…" his voice sounded different, very different. Aside from the fact of his dual chord, it sounded stronger, more pure…

It was the voice of the light, combined with his.

They were one.

"**Wanted the blade…?" **he raised the sword and titled his head to the side, almost playfully, an open challenge.

Yet his stance changed as he set it in front of him, the Ashbringer becoming ablaze with the might of purging fire…

"**Come 'n get it."**

XxxxX

**This Omake is written in honor of the festival that's now taking place all around the American world… Halloween! No, we don't have such a celebration here in Greece but I do know what its about ;p Enjoy.**

**_OMAKE: Hallow's End_**

"Excitement abounds, I almost can't wait! Mhmm mhmm gently kill…" Richard hummed to himself as he danced around the wooden floor. Anko looked up and glared at his never seizing to move form.

"What the fuck is wrong with ye, Warlock?" she asked politely. The lack of other more colorful adjectives was proof that she wasn't really angry… for now.

"Oh, so you don't know?" he smirked behind his hood and giggled. Anko arched an eyebrow. "Know about what?"

"It's Hallow's End, silly! Or Halloween, as you people call it." He dismissed with a wave of his hand and continued humming and dancing…

"So…? What's so good about Hallow's End anyway?" she referred to it with the weird name he supplied. Richard froze for a moment as he stared wide-eyed at the snake-mistress.

"You really _don't _know…?" it sounded like he questioned her very sanity. If she had any.

"Hallow's End…" his eyes flared with flames

"Is all about stealing candy from babies, burning people alive (for the festivities), Tricky tricking children to chop their heads off and of course… the Pumpkin Lord…" he whispered the name with glee. Anko raised an eyebrow. The only thing that bewildered her seemed to be that last weird name.

"The Pumpkin Lord?"

"Exactly! He creeps under your bed late at night, when the darkness has befallen upon everything…" he came closer, creeping like a thief.

"When you sleep, he ever so slowly slips into your dreams and turns them into horrible nightmares filled with gore and pumpkins! Lots and _lots _of pumpkins…!" his wide yellow eyes stared right into hers. It gave her the chills, nonetheless.

"And when he's done burning every inch of happiness from your soul, he will cut off your limps and the pain will make you wake up only to see him tearing them off. You will scream and scream and he will just…"

"Are you talking about yourself…?" she asked, pushing him away.

"Shhh! None's supposed to know…"

"That at night you turn into a sadistic pumpkin?"

"It's not necessarily night. I can kill people whenever I want. And I'm not a sadist." He defended, crossing his arms over his flat chest, looking away in denial.

She smirked "Then what do you call it when one likes seeing others in pain?"

"Mirthful amusement." He replied evenly, grinning at the idea of slaughter.

Anko shook her head yet grinned nonetheless. "Too bad you fucker can't feel any pain." She said and licked her lips, wondering how a tortured expression would look on his face. Not that she had ever seen it anyway… the guy was like Kakashi, aside from the headband and with a hood to hide his head. None knew what lied under it.

"It's one of my 245.351 traits."

"Is one of these traits focused on decoration? 'Cause my whole fuckin' house is filled with walking skeletons, laughing pumpkins and ghosts wondering around." As she said these the ghost of a chubby man crept from under the floor, its bored eyes looking at the two in wonder.

"Will you two shut up…? I'm tryin' to sleep down her… ahhhh!!" he didn't finish his sentence as he was lost in a pyre of flames and kunai.

"Wasn't that the merchant around the corner?" she asked and glared at Richard. He shook his head.

"I'm guilty until proven otherwise." He stated.

"Tseh, you'd kill the whole court whether they found you innocent or not." She replied evenly.

He seemed thoughtful for a moment "You're right."

XxxxX

**A/N: Ok, ok, so if you've read my other stories, you probably already know I'm a sucker for cool voices ;p maybe I'll give Hinata one too… hehe.**

**On a crucial note, I'd like to inform everyone that I'll be currently focusing on the Ashbringer alone! As of late I've come to understand that the more time I spent on ONE fic, the less confusing it becomes inside my head and the better the quality of my writing can be. When I'm done with this fic in who knows how long (probably gonna be some time), I'll resume writing and finishing whatever I have left of the other ones -.-**

**Oh, and sorry but no Omake for now folks. I've got some tight schedule here and I hope the extra length of this chapter makes up for the absence of an omake ;p I'll see if I can update this chap with an Omake a few days later as well, if I'm able to do so.**

**Till we meet again,  
HoNdeR All Mighty.**

**PS: If you're wondering about the armor, to all WoW players: Yes you've guessed right. It's the T2 Retribution set, my favorite ^^ to those that don't know what it looks like, check the link in my profile =)  
**


	15. Chapter 15: Inevitable

**First and foremost, many thanks to the people that have been faithful to this story since its beginning. Leaf Ranger, Dragon Man 180 and Gravity the Wizard have been the three that have been reviewing each chapter of this story =) I love you guys. Your reviews are mostly just thanks for me updating, but I am glad that there are even a few people willing to type a few words for me. **

**Many thanks to every one of you that has helped me become a better author. You know who you are =) The constructive criticism and reviews I got during the period of Soulmate and my other stories was very helpful in me bettering myself as an author and a person. Arigato, mina.**

**Now, on with the story. It's a 9k word chapter xD Enjoy.**

_**The Ashbringer: Shinobi of the Light**_

_**Chapter 15: Inevitable**_

Hyuuga Hiashi wasn't once to appreciate being woken up from his sleep. He valued his rare hours of slumber as a chance to relax, away from the tiring activities and duties of the day.

So it was only natural that he would fume with anger when explosions started to occur outside his home. Irrational it may have seemed, but he was more agitated from waking up rather than the fact that someone was blowing things up outside his door.

His head still dizzy, he activated the Byakugan to take a better look at the culprits. He scanned the inner side of the mansion first and then went to gaze outdoors.

What his eyes mate nearly made him jump off the bed. There where holes in the walls of the mansion as well as crushed concrete all around the street and other nearby houses.

But what made Hiash jump wasn't the debris. It was who actually made this debris.

He squinted, trying to take a better look. The man was absolutely _shining_, literarily. His chakra seemed to be infused with some yellowish power, flowing and whirling in his body like a raging river. It almost looked like light…

He shook his head. How was light supposed to be affiliated with chakra anyway?

The other man, probably the opponent of the first, was exactly the opposite. Instead of the flowing current of fused chakra that the other one had, this man's chakra seemed dense and concrete within his veins, also having a purple look at it with a hint of green. It felt and looked much darker than the first power.

There where very few the times that the Hyuuga lord would be surprised and actually look like it to top it off. This was one of these times, as his eyes where wide and disbelieving at the sight.

Just who the hell where this people? What was wrong with their chakra…?

It was at the heed of that word that Hiashi actually noticed the other presence that lied in-between these men. The chakra system was very similar to the first man's, infused with that shiny power, if only to a lower scale yet flowing like a tranquil current, unlike the raging strength within the other similar figure.

His heart raced as more surprises were abound this late at night. He _recognized _that signature, the one of the petite form. It was beyond possibility, beyond actual belief.

"…Hinata…?" he whispered to himself.

**XxxxX**

He didn't waste any time as he sprang forward, clashing his sword against the death knight's. It was obvious that the man struggled to keep his ground. With a grunt, Naruto was pushed back.

The death knight's blade shined with power as the man's swing launched a bolt of unholy power towards the paladin, who simply stood aside to avoid the attack, making sure no one was behind him first.

Naruto decided to retort… in kind.

Swinging the Ashbringer, the shockwave of power launched towards the knight with tremendous speed. The man was ready to sidestep… an attack of such scale wasn't that hard to dodge.

Yet he found himself rooted to the ground, unable to move, his nerves and body frozen by an invisible force. The man glared at his side, where the girl was…

She was panting, clearly drained from her spell. Her eyes though betrayed no fatigue as she glared at him, determined to give it her all to keep him in place.

He could still break the spell. She was nowhere near strong to stop him, for more than a few seconds.

But these few seconds where enough for Naruto's attack to land.

And it did.

**XxxxX**

Hiashi was gaping at the sight. The taller figure had manipulated the power in his body as if it was chakra, but something was amiss… you can't launch chakra in such a pure and destructive form. It always takes the form of something, be it a dragon or a simple waterdrop. Of course, Hyuuga's used the Jyuuken which was pure close quarters chakra use…

But this man was using such a massive amount of power in one single shot, yet drained his coils seemed not, not in the slightest.

What was going on…? What was this power…?

**XxxxX**

Naruto titled his head to the side in curiosity, eyes furrowed at the still standing man before him. The death knight seemed to have surrounded himself in some green runic shield that hovered around his body. It was what probably kept him alive from the attack.

The shining teal eyes of the man glared at them both with hatred. He had come to finish one simple task, yet these brats had made him go out of his way to even shield himself.

They where not to be underestimated though. Such a mistake he had done to begin with. He would not do so again.

He glanced at the girl. She was exhausted… that Hammer of Justice must have drained her a lot, if she had managed to keep him that stunned for so long. He smirked at the thought of an easy prey…

But the boy was another matter entirely. He hadn't budged an inch, he didn't even slack in his posture. The Ashbringer was still blazing…

He was inexperienced though… he had no knowledge over field combat, that was for sure. The boy would be an easy slice, if he found a good opening.

More confident than before, with reassurances running in his mind, the death knight gathered more of his power…

**XxxxX**

Naruto could feel the taint of evil in this shield. He could even recognize some of the runes. It was a shield against magic, against jutsus, against anything supernatural.

But that didn't mean it would stand forever. A single slice of his blade would be enough to bring it down… probably.

He glanced at Hinata. It was too dangerous to keep her here… she had fought valiantly while he was unconscious for who knows how long. But she did not posses a demon within her, neither did she hold a legendary blade. If the death knight found an opening, he would kill her…

He didn't realize his grip over the Ashbringer tightened to the point it hurt. He glared through his helmet at his opponent. It was time to end this, before things compromised themselves even more. He had to finish it quickly, before people realized just what this commotion was about.

Anbu where nearing the combat sight very quickly, from all directions. He could feel them coming closer and closer with each moment. They probably had a minute or two… max.

No time to waste then, eh?

"**A taste… just a small taste, of the Light's power…"**

"**Adauchi no Tosshin! (Charge of Vengeance)"**

Swinging the sword around him in whirls around his body, he stopped the rotation and gripped the hilt tightly again and charged. The other man's swing aimed to intercept his charge, trying to find his neck. Naruto simply used the force of his run to slide to the side, nearly falling over yet keeping his balance as he ducked, going for a side-ways strike with the blade.

The man couldn't dodge the attack in what little time he had, and it hit him full force.

The air stood still for a moment.

"**This is…" **Naruto stood up and looked the fearful death knight in the eye, his disbelieving teal eyes gazing at his bloodied abdomen, then back at him.

He retracted the Ashbringer.

"**The end, Death knight."** The man fell to his knees as he felt his strength draining from him, the blood loss taking its tall.

"**Rest in pieces."** And with a whirlwind strike, the harbinger of death was beheaded, his body standing still for a moment before falling to the ground.

The paladin shook his head as he rose his hand above the corpse. Chanting prayers, wishing peace to the fallen one, the death knight's body began to vanish in flakes of light…

"**Shoukin… (Redemption)"**

His gaze softened at the vanishing particles of purity. The Light was merciful, willing to take this lost soul in its embrace…

Then he collapsed…

**XxxxX**

Hinata approached his fallen form slowly, fearful of his condition. Yet her posture relaxed when she found him breathing, his chest rising and falling slowly…

The armor he wore began to disintegrate into particles of Light, much like the death knight had. Naruto was left with his usual white-filled garments, his body having no sign of injury or whatever. The healing powers of the Light where remarkable…

She also noticed that the Ashbringer was still clutched in his hands, not having faded away as well. Why would that be so…? She had seen him summon the sword with much struggle in some training sessions, but the blade would always disappear when its purpose was served. Why did it stay with him now…?

Her heart sank as she realized the answer. She couldn't feel Tirion within the blonde anymore, though she could sense the woven particles within the blade's power that was Tirion's very own life force. The paladin had probably enhanced the Ashbringer with his own life…

She pulled Naruto in her embrace, glad to feel his warm body against her, glad to feel his breath coming in and out. Glad that he was alive.

Silent tears fell down her face as she realized they just had their first near death experience. They had defeated an overwhelming foe out of sheer luck. What else could you call it? Such an outburst of power out of the blonde wasn't bound to happen every single time.

Though in reality she did doubt her own words. Naruto was more unpredictable that buttered bread. Not that it made any sense.

She whimpered before realizing the drain she felt in her own body. She had exhausted herself with the spells she had cast today, empowering them to points she had not ever before. But it wasn't enough… it just wasn't enough to stop him. It would only phase their opponent for a little bit.

She had to become stronger… for him, for herself, for everyone. She had to become stronger…

Soon she felt darkness seep into her vision as unconsciousness took its tall.

The faint feeling of large hands being wrapped around her was the last thing her dulled mind felt…

**XxxxX**

Kakashi frowned at the sight before him. All that remained was some debris and dented walls, even a hole on the ground. There weren't any bodies, not even blood. Nothing. As if the landscape tore itself apart.

But that wasn't possible. Those immense waves of power… they had to come from somewhere.

He rose his headband, opening the Sharingan…

"What is this…?" he whispered to himself as his vision became sharper than ever. He could make out frail golden lines of energy simmering in the air, probably the remnants of what happened before.

This was not chakra.

One hand extended, trying to grasp the thin dust like lines. Both eyes widened as instead of braking apart around the passage of his hand, the mysterious energy began to wrap itself around the appendage, swirling slowly around his palm, as if hugging it, wanting it there.

Perplexed and curious, Kakashi began to play along with the mysterious dust. Slow motions of his hand where followed swiftly by the strange power that kept swimming in the air around his palm.

He could make out the faint warmness, the caressing feeling that seeped through his gloves. It was as if this dust was _alive_… and pretty much a cuddle lover.

He retracted his hand, the tiny flakes flowing with the motion, keeping themselves around his limb. It felt strange… but not threatening at all.

With his Sharingan he gazed at the other Anbu who had come to investigate the immense commotion that seemed to _not _have taken place. Other particles of this strange hue danced and flickered around them as well.

Whatever was going on, it was weird… yet felt right, for some reason even more forlorn.

He sighed and shrugged, dropping the matter. He had merely come here because he was nearby and felt the commotion. Hiding his Sharingan away, he was surprised that the light dust was still visible around his hand, even though he couldn't see those whirling around the others.

With a shook of his head, Hatake Kakashi began to walk away, hands in his pockets… he had a team to torture when morning came.

**XxxxX**

"Quick reaction of you, Hiashi-sama." Said an elderly woman as she stood next to the head of the clan. Hiashi glanced back at her, acknowledging her words.

"Indeed, we wouldn't like the Anbu finding my daughter on the ground." He grumbled at the rumors such a thing would bring. The Hyuuga heiress, dirty and battered found outside her own home which happened to be a battlefield.

Not that much noble, was it?

Hiashi turned to gaze at her sleeping form. Remarkably, there were no injuries on her despite the scratches and dirt marks on her clothes. It was as if she had gone and come unscathed.

That wasn't possible, considering the level of strength their opponent held. He had seen the man, seen him rising that powerful shield, seen him manipulating powers beyond belief.

Naruto would probably had been dead by now if he had not charged first. The man was gathering immense amounts of power and concentrated them on the area around him… if Naruto had been a second slower, Hiashi couldn't imagine what would have happened.

No, he didn't love the boy more than most people did. But he did understand that there was special bond between him and his daughter. A bond that if Hiashi decided to break, so would Hinata.

But he didn't see how that would be a wise decision. As far he could tell, in her days spent with the blonde his little girl had come to bloom in a far stronger person that she ever was.

That week that he had kept her away form the academy for special training… no, it was no training. It was a test. And Hinata had passed.

Even though she didn't know.

She had demonstrated absolute harmony in her technique and a steady pace of body and mind. She was far calmer than she would otherwise be when facing him and her eyed betrayed no fear.

Maybe he should have praised her. Simply dismissing her after every session, simply staring at her with an empty expression, probably wasn't the epitome of caring. He would have to make up to that, one day.

But he was surprised. Instead of her falling into a deeper misery, instead of a growing fear, each day she would come back and do even better. She was astounding.

And today he had seen that in plain sight. Not only had she confronted a far superior opponent, but she was alive and unscathed out of it too.

He also remembered that strange power she seemed to command now, along with the blonde. Just what where they doing, when they where alone, really? Just what mysterious powers took place between Naruto and Hinata? What was this force they wielded in combat?

He sighed, standing up from the stool and leaving his daughter to rest, the Kyuubi jinchuuriki sleeping a few feet away in a makeshift bed of his own. Hiashi motioned for the elder to take her leave and so she did with a bow of her head.

The Hyuuga lord glanced at them both before sliding the door to a close behind him, stepping away in the dark corridors and heading for his own bed. All things would be answered, in due time.

The morning would bring a new day. Maybe then he would try and bring a new side of himself as well. A side that would be more understanding, more caring. For them both.

**XxxxX**

"SOooo! Catchy home you have here I may say." He bend over with interest, glancing around the wooden floor and handmade paintings on the walls. Anko snickered. Give him a pile of dust and he would find it interesting.

"Care to tell me where you keep the corpses?" he asked while popping his head in the fire place.

Anko shrugged "The one's I leave behind?"

"Huh, very funny." He muttered to himself as he slithered out of the fireplace, his white-pale face covered with carbon.

"Why the fuck are you following me anyway?" since her mission in the borders with Suna where she found this crazy asshole, he hadn't left her alone for a minute. Why? She had yet to understand. Aside from the fact that he tried to kill her a few times, he was a fairly normal person. (That's Anko standards we're talking about .)

"I like you." He said simply and smiled under his hood. Anko didn't know if she had to blush or punch him.

She simply did both.

Richard picked himself up from the floor and pretended to place his head back into place. With a grunt, he launched a punch at her as well.

Too preoccupied with other thoughts, Anko didn't see the strike coming and fell in a heap on the floor.

She stared up at his yellow eyes with wonder.

Then they both burst out laughing.

"You're a fucked up asshole, you know that?" she said with a smirk as she stood up.

"Call me Richard." He answered back.

**XxxxX**

Slowly, his eyes began to flicker back in the world of the living. His head ached and his whole body felt cold. Ignoring the slight headache, he curled up even more tightly within the puffy warm covers, satisfied at the comfortable position.

Wait... puffy warm covers? What the heck?

Panicking, he came up with a startle, eyes battling to focus on his surroundings. The fact that he whipped his head around didn't help.

Finally letting himself relax a little, he let his vision take in everything. He was very likely in a room, duh… but there was something amiss… he didn't have that much knowledge in bedrooms, but even he could tell…

That this was a girl's room.

Even more bewildered and fearful now, Naruto glanced around, looking for any signs of life or any indication of where he was.

"Awake, at long last are we not?" he heard a voice behind him and jolted upright. Turning around, he was surprised to meet a pair of white-grey eyes, very similar to Hinata's…

What the fuck??

"Who… who are you…?" he managed to say after taking in the image of the man. His posture was fairly relaxed, yet his face betrayed no emotion.

Hiashi resisted the urge to smirk quite skillfully. None could tell the difference.

"I, am Hyuuga Hiashi" a Hyuuga…

"And… what am I doing here…?" Naruto barely whispered as he looked down at his own hands. He wasn't surprised to find no injuries, or even scratches. Both the fox and the Light made sure of that.

"We found you along with Hinata outside the mansion, amidst a broken battlefield." The man explained slowly, letting the recently awakened blonde to take it all in.

Naruto shook his head and rested a hand on his forehead. He felt weird… really weird.

He noticed his hands trembling, his whole body slowly shaking. Hiashi did notice so as well.

"If, you are worried about your sword, it is rested right next to your bed." He explained once more and Naruto's eyes widened as he looked at the other side of the bed, noticing the Ashbringer lying dully right where the man told him.

Picking up the blade, Naruto sat on the bed and pulled it to his lap, examining it carefully, as if he saw it for the first time.

Maybe he did. He had never seen… felt, the Ashbringer as a whole in his grasp. In the few training sessions that he was allowed to wield it, the blade felt like an eerie shadow, as if it would vanish any moment.

But now, it was concrete, it was strong, it was here… it was his.

And the price he had paid was a soul.

He shook his head again, fighting back tears. He shouldn't be sad… Tirion had gone away the way he wanted to. He had given his life for what he believed in… and he believed in _him_. The last thing he would do was let him down.

He would carry the Ashbringer with pride, for all his days.

"An interesting weapon you wield, Uzumaki." The man said with a mild interest in his voice, scanning the sword up and down. Naruto nodded.

"It is… special." Was all he said as he stroke the blade of the sword. He noticed that the game which usually decorated the curve near the tip of the blade wasn't there…

Could the Hyuuga's have taken it? Very unlikely. The sword was bound to him. They could take nothing without killing him first.

"I want to thank you, Naruto-san." The Hyuuga addressed him again, taking him out of his thoughts. Thank him? For what?

Hiashi answered the blonde's unspoken question. He could read it in his features. "For protecting her. As strong as she was, I doubt she would ever defeat such an opponent." So he had seen. He had seen him using the Light…

Then he had seen Hinata too. Naruto's worry was probably evident as he frowned at the man. Hiashi seemed to see through this too.

"Yes. I indeed saw everything. And… should not be compelled to answer my question. It is your choice to share such a secret or not." He said formally, but Naruto could feel the curiosity peaking around the corner. He wanted to know. And he would, sooner or later.

Naruto sighed. "It's a long story, Hiashi-san…" Naruto wasn't aware that he spoke to the head of the clan. Nevertheless, he began his tale from the very start…

"It all started around six years ago, when I found this sword outside Konoha…"

XxxxX

"Hinata… doesn't really know that her father cares for her." Hiashi spoke, barely above a whisper.

"Why not? Isn't that supposed to be what family is all about? Love?" the blonde was clearly intrigued with the man. He had heard his whole tale yet kept a neutral face, asking questions and keeping silent when needed. He was a good listener.

He sighed "For most common people, I suppose. But we are the Hyuuga. Certain appearances must be kept." He snickered "Or maybe it's our foolishness over our pride. Maybe I'll never really know." He didn't understand why he was opening up to the blonde demon-boy, as the citizens liked to call him. But Naruto had trusted him with his secret, his tale. A story for a story, it was.

"Hinata… thinks her father hates her. But the only thing he tries to do is boost her determination, make her want to be something more. Maybe he guessed wrong. Maybe he didn't take the right path in order to teach her this lesson." He sighed heavily, as if the burden of years was shifting on his shoulders.

Naruto nodded "Yeah, she's not and the most confident of people…" he looked at the other bed in the room. It hadn't taken him long to realize after seeing Hiashi that he was probably in her room within the Hyuuga manor.

She was peacefully sleeping, unaware of their conversation.

"But that changed when she met you." Hiashi was also looking at the petite girl as Naruto turned to glance at him.

"Never had I seen her strive for something this way… never had I seen her fight for something she wanted." Naruto nodded and turned to look at the heiress again, no comments leaving his mouth at the man's words.

"Do you love her?" the question was straight forward. Maybe too straight forward, even for Naruto.

Eyes wide and taken aback, the blonde looked at the Hyuuga as if he had brain damage.

"What brought that up?" he frowned. Hiashi simply shook his head.

"It's a simply question, Uzumaki. Do you love Hinata?" cause he was damn sure that she loved him. A blind man could see that. Ironic, yes. Hinata had never displayed any kind of passion in her speech for anyone else than this boy, never had her eyes shined with joy or sadness at the mention of his name, never had another human such an impact on her.

He had to know. For her sake.

Naruto avoided the man's gaze and looked at her tranquil sleeping form. Lying there, still and motionless, her face free of any expression. She was calm…

He could clearly see her face from here. Her features, her hair, all of it. Elegant eyelids, an alabaster skin that was probably as smooth as silk, a pair of soft lips…

He shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts.

Hiashi waited patiently for his answer. He didn't push him, yet his gaze clearly said that he wouldn't take silence for an answer.

"I…"

The stirring sound that came from the girl earned both their attention. Hiashi almost frowned at the loss of this chance. But he couldn't help it, either way.

"I suggest you prepare yourself, Uzumaki. You have a genin test to undergo in an hour, am I wrong?" Naruto glanced at the clock on the opposite wall and saw the time.

"7am… still have an hour…" he mumbled to himself. When he turned to look at Hiashi though, the man was already gone…

Titling his head in curiosity, Naruto heard Hinata stir in her sleep in an attempt to come back to the real world. Smiling, he stood up from the small bed, laid the sword on a wall and looked for his gear… the Hyuuga's had changed him into some kind of silk garments that smelled… well, fresh.

Not pondering on it, he quickly found his clothes under the bed, washed and neatly folded, waiting for him. Not thinking much about it and making a note to thank them for their hospitality later, Naruto began to change…

**XxxxX**

He knew Kakashi would be late. But that wasn't that much an issue since he would probably have some time to deal with Sakura.

Sasuke, he was already a passable connection. With some effort, Naruto would set him in the right path, one away from the bloody vengeance he sought.

Sakura… well, he still had some ways here.

He looked at Hinata's sleeping form. After a few stirs she had relented and let herself sleep some more. She probably needed it. She didn't have his chakra capacities neither his endurance.

She was fragile. A girl. He felt as if he had to protect her, like she was a valuable doll. A valuable person. A priceless person even.

His own thoughts bewildered him. He wasn't supposed to think that way about her. Sure he knew that she was in love, but he didn't want to think like that until he knew that he could either return her feelings or keep her away. What was more confusing was that the debate his heart had was which action would hurt most… not thinking about her or declining her.

Grapping the Ashbringer and placing it on his back, he was surprised that the blade seemed to fit on his back perfectly even without being strapped, like some invisible force kept it in place.

He didn't complain though. Less trouble for him.

Setting her clock to ding in approximately five minutes, for she probably had her own team meeting as well, Naruto slid the door open and walked outside.

Gazing over his shoulder, Naruto glanced at the sleeping heiress…

'_Do you love her?' _Hiashi's words echoed in his mind, and Naruto felt a tugging at his heart in reminisce. He shook his head, trying to keep the complicate emotion away.

Naruto slowly walked away. He would find someone and ask where the head of the clan was, as to thank him properly for allowing him to stay here overnight.

He never noticed Hinata slowly rising from her bed, a solemn expression on her face as she turned the alarm clock off…

**XxxxX**

"Do come in." the man's tone was emotionless. Why did it sound familiar?

Naruto slid the door open and bowed, keeping his head low.

"Thank you for your hospitality lord Hyuuga. It was an honor." He said formally and rose, eyes widening at the sight.

"H-H-Hiashi-san?!" he almost yelled. The man quirked an eyebrow in response to his near shout.

"What would you have expected? Leroy?(Oh you know for whom I talk about… the man's a legend!)" Naruto stammered on a few words before regaining his composure. He was talking to the clan head all this time? This casually?

Hiashi almost snickered in amusement. "Regardless of if I show so or not, I do care for my daughter in my own way. You won't comprehend me until you become a father, Uzumaki." He said and glared

"Which shouldn't be too soon." Naruto easily noticed the underlined threat. He gulped.

"O-of course. It won't happen… soon. Hehe." He chuckled nervously.

"And you're welcome. We would do nothing less for someone who has protected my daughter with his life." Hiashi dismissed him with a motion of his hand and Naruto slowly obliged. This situation was weird. Really weird.

Not pondering on it though, the blonde made his way towards the exit of the Hyuuga mansion. The time for his examination was growing nigh…

**XxxxX**

'_Do you love her?'_ the words lingered in her mind, repeating themselves over and over again. Did he?

Right as he was about to answer, she just had to go and make a sound, stopping him! When she was about to finally learn his feelings!

She had woken up when Naruto started narrating about his life since he found the Light. He had included her too in his narration, saying what a wonderful student, peer and friend she was. She had blushed under the covers, glad for his praise, even though she could imagine her father's face being the epitome of apathy at whatever Naruto threw at him.

But did she want to learn? Did she want to know? That thought had conquered her when she stirred on the bed. She thought about fully waking up and pretend like she had heard nothing. But that would do any good? Not much.

She had heard her father leaving, heard Naruto rustle about and clothe himself up. God, she felt as if the sheets would suffocate her from the hotness of the air. She was blushing like mad. She even dared sneak a peak, and nearly groaned when she saw him already dressed.

He then left slowly, looking back at her for a moment and then departing with silent steps in the hallway. He had even set her alarm clock to ring… how sweet.

But unnecessary. As Hinata got up and began dressing herself as well, with a long drawn sigh, she replayed her father's fateful words in her mind…

**XxxxX**

"Kakashi-sensei is late" Sakura spoke the obvious. Both Naruto and Sasuke gave her the 'duh' look, for lack of a better term. Naruto already knew that Kakashi would be late. So much time of training with the Cyclops gave him that much knowledge at least.

"What's up with you too? Sudden alliance against me?" Naruto's mind flickered to the Alliance of Stormwind for a moment before grinning back at his pink haired teammate.

"Nah, we just like to mess around with"

"What humans usually call a brain that you might not actually posses" Sasuke completed his sentence as if he knew what the blonde was going to say from the start. Sakura gaped at both of them.

"What the hell? You two are secret twins or something?" she commented, angry and sad. Sasuke would always avoid her, but he had never openly insulted her.

Well, he had now.

Sakura's eyes would tear up if it wasn't for the anger that rose within her chest, overwhelming the creeping sadness.

"Yo!" said a cheerful voice in between a puff of smoke. Three kunais found themselves embedded where the man stood a mere second ago.

"YOU'RE LATE!!" Sakura and Naruto screeched, Sasuke simply keeping at glaring at the man. Kakashi sheepishly rubbed his head, grinning at them behind his mask.

"Well, I found that cat on the street and…"

"Decided the sight was so hot, you just had to go find a hiding spot and read your perverted books till you…" it was Naruto's turn to dodge an incoming kunai.

"One more word, and the next one won't miss." Kakashi threatened. Naruto obviously sweated at the prospects this idea gave…

"Alright!" the jounin's cheerful attitude was back a little too quick for comfort. Sakura and Sasuke decided to stay silent for the moment.

"Today, you guys are going to see what it takes to be a true ninja." His visible eye grew bored again, as if he had seen this scene over and over again, like a boring old movie.

"Two other teams will join us for this challenge and they will be tested as well equally." He spoke and three pairs of eyes widened at the idea.

"Who will they be?" Naruto's tone was cautious. He didn't like the sound of this.

Kakashi's hidden face contorted in what most could call his trademark smile "They will be… uhhh… yeah… let me think…" he was clearly confused. Naruto sighed. He really liked toying with him, didn't he?

"Team 8 and Team 10." To his surprise, it wasn't Kakashi's voice that spoke. It was rather, a female one. They all turned around to meet a pair of red eyes the color of rubies, three more teens their age standing behind the woman.

"Yuuhi Kurenai" Kakashi acknowledged with a smile. Kurenai didn't do as much as to smile back though.

"Thank you for inviting us in this challenge, Kakashi-san. I'm sure my new students will find it most…" she didn't get to finish as the Cyclops interrupted with a lousy hand over her shoulder.

"Now, now Kurenai, drop the formalities! We're one big family!" he said cheerfully and the woman sighed.

"Kakashi, I suppose you could leave her be? Yuuhi isn't very fond of such close contact." Spoke another deep male voice with a laugh.

"Or groping." The red eyed woman included and smoothly slid away from Kakashi, who stumbled and fell on the ground from the loss of support.

"Ah, Kurenai-chan, don't get weird ideas!" Kakashi whined and sat up, the Sarutobi laughing openly.

**XxxxX**

"Hey guys, how's it going?" Naruto said with a wide grin. Shikamaru regarded him with a wave and went back to lying on the grass, watching the clouds. Ino completely ignored him as she went to glue herself on Sasuke, much to Sakura's dismay and Chouji kept munching on his chips.

Though he was indeed the only one who answered

"Hey Naruto. We've heard some weird things happened with a traitor last night. I heard two genin alone managed to stop him! Can you imagine?" Chouji had even halted his munching in order to give his voice the right amount of enthusiasm.

"I wonder who those genin are…" he said and popped another chip in his mouth.

Naruto grinned "I wonder the same thing as well." He said and walked away towards team 8.

XxxxX

"Hinata, Kiba, Shino." He acknowledged all three with a nod and they smiled back. Shino excluded. He simply nodded in return.

"How's it going man?" Kiba said with a friendly punch on the shoulder.

"Oh you know, this and that, saving maidens from despair, kicking bad-guys across Konoha, saving the world… usual stuff." Naruto said as if it was the most simple thing in the world, and Kiba laughed in return.

"Yeah I know! It's harder for you to wait for ramen to cook rather than giving your life for justice!" he pumped a fist to his chest, taking on a mock of a pompous stance.

It was Naruto's turn to laugh. "Yeah right."

They kept on chatting and joking around, Hinata joining in after a few moments of reluctance. It didn't take much effort for either Kiba or Shino to notice the tension between the two. Though none called them on it. It wasn't their business to begin with.

"Hey, Shino! What was that rare specimen of an ancient bug you where talking about?" Kiba invited the loner in the conversation.

"It was not a specimen. It was a perfectly preserved body a bug known in the First War for its poisonous effects. It is considered a very rare specie that prefers to live in swamps…" Shino smoothly talked as if he was explaining something in a lecture. None of them retorted though. The subject seemed interesting enough and Shino's knowledge on the matter was remarkable.

"So, if for example you get bitten by such a bug, can't one just suck the poison out?" Naruto asked and Shino glanced at him.

"One can indeed suck the poison, but that would result in loss of feeling on your tongue and lips for approximately a decade, maybe forever. It is a small sacrifice that can save one's life though." He explained and Naruto nodded.

"Well, lets just hope you'll be around when such a thing happens" he smiled at the Aburame who nodded in return.

"Alright everyone! Chatting time is up! Get yourselves warmed up and we'll begin explaining the rules of the test!" Asuma ordered and everyone prepared to do as they where told, some crumbling about troublesome things, some munching on chips, some bickering around an Uchiha, others having the epitome of apathy on their faces and some grinning from ear to ear at the new challenge.

**XxxxX**

"Ok, so the rules are simple. Both us and each of you will have one of these bells attached on your person. The purpose of every one of you is to bring back at least _three _bells to his sensei. The ones that succeed will be promoted to Genin. Those that fail…" Thunder loomed in the background.

"Go back to the academy." And terror reigned over them all.

Sakura calculated something in her mind. "But… sensei, even if one team managed to beat all others, the bells still aren't enough for the whole team to succeed." Bingo.

Kakashi simply smiled at her "Exactly."

Worried glances flied around the groups as each of them was handed a bell. Naruto simply smirked at the silver-haired man when his was given. Kakashi wondered what the blonde would be up to again…

Oh Kakashi, he just had no idea. _He_ was the one that trained the blonde. _He _was the one that taught him that teamwork was above all in a shinobi team.

Naruto had taken that lesson to heart. And he wasn't about to be fooled by such cheap lures.

**XxxxX**

"Team 7, follow!" Naruto commanded and both of his teammates reluctantly obliged as they retreated away from the others who scattered around the forest. Only Naruto's team stayed united, even though they did have protests.

"Who made you the leader, dobe?" Sasuke arched an eyebrow.

Naruto grinned "None, but it would be better than allowing you guys to run off on me." Sakura clutched her bell a little tighter as it hang on her side.

Naruto shook his head "No, no, I won't ambush you or anything. So Sakura's calculation was correct, mathematically. But Kakashi made it so that it we would think more about numbers, rather than what truly this thing is about."

"And you know what this is about?" Sasuke's tone was still disbelieving. Sakura didn't look any better.

The blonde nodded "Trust me on this one, Sasuke. I've been under this man's tutelage for a lot of time now, I know what he's _thinking!_" he gave emphasis to the last word. Sasuke sighed. A side of him wanted to trust Naruto, but another side told him that this could be a mistake.

A few moments of silence passed by…

"So what's the plan?"

**XxxxX**

"Kiba-kun! Shino-kun!" Hinata yelled, which sounded quite weird, but she did yell nonetheless. Kiba was the first to answer as he dropped from a nearby branch, landing beside her.

"What is it Hinata? Don't you know this is a free for all fight? You can't yell around!" Kiba trusted her not to backstab him. She was a good friend, and absolutely not a cunning one at it.

Hinata shook her head "Kiba-kun, that's what they want us to believe. Why put us in a team in the first place if we are to fight against each other?" she reasoned and Kiba seemed to think about it for a moment.

"I recommend her words and reinforce. Shinobi teams are usually 3-man cells that work together towards an initial purpose to accomplish the desired objective. This… competition, is probably meant to put our bonds to test." Shino popped out of nowhere next to Kiba, who freaked out for a moment, truly.

Sighing in defeat, Kiba relented and sat on the ground.

"So what are we going to do?"

None of the two could see the small smirk on Shino's face.

**XxxxX**

Shikamaru sat in his thinking pose, lotus stance and fingers lightly touching in an O in front of him, eyes closed and eyebrow furrowed. Even Choji had stopped munching beside him, Ino having wondered somewhere in the forest on her own.

Thoughts run in his mind a million per second. Why such a challenge? What the catch here that he hadn't seen in the start? It should be something very simple… very simple…

Shikamaru's eyes shot open as an idea popped his mind. But of course. It had to be it. It made as much sense as a slice of bread always dropping on its buttered side. Which was much.

Grinning, the young strategist sat up, stretched, and motioned for his half-asleep friend to follow.

"What's up, Shika?" Chouji asked as he finally returned to his bottomless bag of chips.

Shikamaru simply smirked.

"We have to find Ino first."

**XxxxX**

"Kakashi counts on us fighting against each other for bells, instead of going for the senseis, who are surely far harder opponents." Naruto slowly explained.

"We still have to win over the other teams to get enough bells for everyone, but we'll have to defeat one of the senseis as well." He pointed out and his teammates nodded.

"But won't the other teams be united like us too?" Sakura spoke her mind. Naruto nodded.

"Let's just hope they won't be." Though he really doubted so when they had Shikamaru and Shino on their teams.

**XxxxX**

"Holy mutilate rogues… these puckers know what they be doing." Gorley commented with a wide grin. Poll simply sighed as he widened the arcane screen a little.

"Yes, it will be an interesting competition to watch nonetheless." He said and focused on the pineapple headed kid. He had thought up the cleverest plan so far, even though it was a little risky.

"Tseh, whatever. By the way, these kiddos don't seem to have noticed the huge sword on the blondie's back… weird." Gorley spoke with a skeptical frown. Poll looked at him as if he was stupid.

"And you call yourself a Paladin… of course they can't. Unless Naruto takes out the blade and empowers it, it will be just an ethereal form on his back visible only to users of the Light. I can only faintly see it as well."

"You can see it…?" Gorley's voice held amazement.

He then turned to the screen again "Then that means that the time for him to grasp his powers fully is at hand." He chuckled and downed another can of beer. These things where the best! Beer in a metal can! Why hadn't he thought of that?

"Will his body be able to take it though?" the mage seemed worried as he watched Naruto and his teammates bounce around trees, setting up traps.

"I'm sure that little lad will surprise us all." Gorley reassured.

**XxxxX**

"See anyone?" Naruto whispered under the foliage. Sasuke shook his head next to him while Sakura had her eyes closed on the tree above them, focusing on her senses.

"We're at a disadvantage here. Especially against Team 8. There's no way we can ambush them." Sasuke wasn't and the biggest optimist in the world, but Naruto had to agree with him. Team 8 was compromised of scouts. There was no way they couldn't find them.

"Then all we have to do is wait for them to find us, no?" Naruto said with a grin. Sasuke smirked back at him, the idea of combat very vivid in his mind.

How close they where indeed.

**XxxxX**

"So, this is a training ground?" the warlock asked with glee.

"Yes, it is, and no, you can't blow it up." Anko regretted allowing him to come. With every damn passing second.

Richard didn't seem to pay that much of a mind though.

"Aww, come on! I haven't killed anything for two days now! TWO DAYS!" he whined, falling to his knees, trembling with pent up anger.

He finally sighed "I really need to spent my energy somehow." He said and looked down upon himself, feeling something ticklish.

"Anko, why is there a dagger puncturing through my chest?" he asked with a glare towards the woman, who looked down at his prone form, amazed and terrified at the same time.

She had expected him to dodge that. Or, in the very best, just die from the strike. But no, he was just behaving as if it was an annoyance.

"What the fuck are you…?" she whispered, more to herself rather than him. What was she doing with this… thing, in the first place?

He sighed "I guess that being Undead does not much to life…" he stood up, took the dagger out and dusted his robes off.

"What am I? Such a question would be worthy of an even worthier answer!" he said with pride, one hand extended to the sky.

"I am the chief warlock of the brothers of darkness… no wait, I've told you my titles before."

"And your freaking name is Richard…" she added and he frowned.

"You just don't like paying attention to more important things, do you?"

"Like what, dick?" she smirked at his little nickname. She took a slow step back, just in case.

"Like your cloak being on fire. _Again_." He pointed the obvious.

"What the fuck?!!" she sweared.

He got closer, a hand hanging loosely over her shoulders, yellow eyes looking into hers with happiness.

"The real fun starts when it reaches your eyebrows."

XxxxX

"Gatsuuga!!" Sasuke and Naruto got out of the way in the last moment as a whirlwind of fangs and claws shot towards them. Needless to say, the bushes where torn to pieces.

Both teens watched as Kiba's attack came to a halt and both threw a few shuriken towars the Inuzuka, who managed to dodge away in the last moment.

Up on the tree, a swarm of bugs went for Sakura's stunned form, who could do nothing but scream…

As she turned into a puff of smoke.

"Interesting move…" Shino commented with a nod towards the blonde. Naruto wasted no time as he took a kunai out, prepared for battle. Sasuke himself pulled out a pair of steel daggers on each hand, prepared to face the newcomers.

Naruto easily noticed that Hinata wasn't with them. She was hiding behind a few trees, unseen by anyone, even Sasuke. He didn't she her either. He could _feel _her.

The bond they shared through the Light seemed peculiar right now.

'… _I don't want to do it… I don't want to fight her…'_ as his mind debated with his heart and purpose, Sasuke lost no more time as he seethed his blades to perform hand seals for the Grand Fireball jutsu.

Naruto's eyes widened. Hinata was still back there…

No… he relaxed. She should have seen this coming via her Byakugan already.

She really should…

"**Katon: Gogakyou no Jutsu!"** an enormous ball of pure flames shot towards the two teens and the hidden Hyuuga. All of them run to dodge the attack, Hinata keeping her cover as she went.

She already knew that Naruto knew where she was. The only thing she didn't understand was why he wasn't giving her position away from Sasuke, knowing that she would probably ambush him at some point.

He really hoped she could see the torn decisions that raged within his mind…

Nonetheless, he set his hands to perform his own jutsu…

He whispered the name so no one could hear. Who ever said that shouting out yours jutsus helped any?

An ethereal hammer appeared in his hand and Naruto wasted no time as he launched the weapon of Light towards his opponents. Kiba stared wide eyed at the incoming hammer, even Shino's eyebrows where raised up high.

Needless to say, Kiba took the hammer right in the face, knocking him out.

Shino, seeing his teammate fall, got over his surprise pretty quickly and grasped a few shuriken from his pouch…

Then stabbing pain shot all over his back. He slowly turned around, seeing Sakura grinning back at him, hand outstretched.

'… _ambushed…' _was the last thing Shino thought before unconsciousness gripped him.

It was both risky and clever, to have Sakura hide somewhere a little ways away from them in order to gain the element of surprise. A henged shadow clone wearing one of her spare dresses (don't ask how she happened to have one on her person) could also mask her scent better. Kiba was too impulsive to sit and think about details, Naruto knew that.

He really thought that Hinata or Shino would ruin his plan. But it seemed both of them had misjudged Sakura's cunningness… maybe Naruto did as well.

Regardless, Hinata still hadn't come out of her hiding spot…

Sasuke barely dodged a Jyuuken strike as he titled his body to the side. Hinata though wasted no time as she went for a flurry of attacks. Sasuke even tried to parry with his blades, resulting to their loss as his grip loosened under the weight of her chakra attacks.

Her taijutsu was close quarters specialized… Sasuke didn't stand much of a chance, especially when he was taken by surprise like that…

Aiming for a kick at her head, Hinata easily lowered her agile body to dodge the attack from underneath, pushing then forward with both palms into Sasuke's momentarily exposed back.

Needless to say, the boy was shot forward into a tree, head first.

Sasuke winced as he tried to stand back up, only finding that he couldn't. Extreme pain followed every attempt for him to stand.

And all these had happened in the span of five seconds. Six, if you counted the one it took for Sasuke's flying form to hit the tree.

**XXXXX**

"That girl would make a very nice rogue I tell ye…" Gorley muttered.

"Shhh! You're ruining the mood!" Poll scolded and returned to gape at the screen.

**XXXXX**

Hinata sidestepped to dodge an incoming hammer. Naruto had wasted no time to attack back, even though something in his mind screamed at him not to.

He _had_ to attack. For his teammates, his mission.

Hinata's smile felt unnerving yet comforting at this situation. They had sparred against each other plenty of times, but never was it to actually hurt each other, never was it before the eyes of their peers.

"Give me one sec…" she mouthed with a smile before disappearing…

When the hell had she become this fast?

Sakura, for one, was too stunned from seeing her crush being… well, crushed, onto a tree this quickly. She never saw the Hyuuga press a nerve point on her neck, as if pressing the button for a computer to turn off. So did Sakura, as she gently hit the forest floor.

Sasuke was the only one still conscious, but unable to move much. Hinata's attack had been a heavy one, but not lethal.

Naruto eyed her up and down… yep, both the Light and his senses told him this was Hinata for real. But something was surely different…

**XXXXX**

"YOU…" she was furious "Fucked up bastard!!" she roared in fury and threw a barrage of weapons at him.

Not wanting to turn into a cheese with holes, Richard simply froze the metals in mid air with a blast of ice.

"Call me Richard any time." He said with a smile.

"You fucking had to go and use your weirdo jutsus on that girl?! On a Hyuuga?! How messed up can your DEAD brain be?! I leave you alone for two fucking minutes and this shit happens!!" she yelled again. The warlock took a thinking posture on.

"Well, she did seem like she needed a boost of power there… no worries, no worries, it will fade away in an hour or two… though I suspect the contradiction of magics will kill her…" he seemed thoughtful again.

"Contradiction of what…?" Anko asked, confused.

**XXXXX**

"Gorley… do you see that?" Poll asked, pointing a wary finger at the smiling Hyuuga. The paladin nodded grimly.

"Someone infused her with magic. Powerful one that is. You sure that Richard isn't around town?" he shot a wary glance at this friend.

Poll shook his head "He should be somewhere around Kumo right now…"

"**FOR PONY!!!!"** they heard a mighty yell in the distance. Both turned to look at its direction, sweat dropping.

"Scratch that" Poll added.

**XXXXX**

"Magic…?" since when did Hinata know anything about the arts of magic, let alone how to boost her physical abilities with it?

Tirion had once told him what the use of Magic along with the Light could do…

And it wasn't good.

She was already having side effects. Despite the boost in her physical capabilities, her mental state would soon begin to disorient. If he didn't cleanse that spell out of her soon enough, she could even turn paranoid forever…

"What's wrong Naruto-kun? Afraid of a girl?" she pouted and challenged at the same time. His eyebrows furrowed. "Hinata… what happened to you?" he asked warily.

She giggled "Some man came up to us and froze us all in a block of ice. I used the Light to escape and beat him up a little…" she giggled again, probably at a memory.

"Then he offered me some help, to make me stronger and better." She snickered.

"He succeeded." Her eyes furrowed at some other random thought, and the ever so rare emotion of anger seemed to flash through those lavender pools.

"You _let _him give you that power? Hinata, that goes against everything Tirion taught us! We don't use magic to make ourselves stronger! We can only truly earn something when we fight for it!" he shouted in despair.

The anger was more evident on her face now.

"I fought… _for you…_ for many years… yet still… _you would never look at me, not like that… _you don't know how it feels… _to not have the one you love look at you, see you as something more… _It's different than… _having people you don't know just hate you… _It's so much different…" her random mumbles didn't make much sense, though he did realize there should be some hidden words in between.

She gripped her head, as if a headache was shooting through.

"Hinata… I…" he tried to reason. Her mental state was already beginning to slip. He had to act quick, as she still maintained her sanity.

"No… please, don't speak another word." She retorted in a whisper and rose her head to look at him, Byakugan ablaze.

Naruto set in his stance as he prepared.

Prepared for the inevitable.

**XXXXX**

**WARNING: OMAKE will be added in a few days!! On with the author notes for now.**

**A/N: I thought I should put this particular fight in as well… hmmm… what a bright idea! The next chapter will be focused on these two love birds fighting against each other… it will be glorious! With lots more of Gorley-Poll, Richard-Anko and who knows whom else?**

**But I'll warn you, it won't be a big chapter -.-**

**Alright, here're my plans for this story.**

**I'll do my best to have it updated on a weekly basis, every Wednesday. I might also post another chapter by Sunday. If not, then the next chapter will be a full one on next Wednesday again.**

**Btw, please have the decency to at least drop a review. I don't ask for much. Your support is all I need. Anyone of you been reading ANBU? By God Among Mere Mortals? It's a very good read, I recommend, but the point is that at the last post of his story he's explaining something that I believe speaks for us all. There are many stories that are very good yet don't have enough reviews to support them.**

**I know you guys judge a story by its review numbers. I tend to do so too, admittedly. **

**So all this mediocre author asks if for you peeps to put some spirit into me and make writing something more fun to do. Remember, I don't write my stories just for myself. I write them for you too.**

**Yours,**

**HoNdeR All Mighty**


	16. Chapter 16: Feelings! Missions! Richard?

_**A/N: Pah, I'd like to ask you guys to forgive any mistakes you might find -.- I was a little groggy when I finished this one, 2 AM in the morning. I had to go to sleep and write the Omake in the morning, just so that I would use my fingers effectively. Once again, there are bound to be a few misstypes, but I hope they won't be much of an eyesore. Enjoy =)**_

_**The Ashbringer: Shinobi of the Light**_

_**Chapter 16: Feelings! Missions! … Richard?**_

"So, how the hell did you manage to even place her in that state?" she asked, dreading the answer. The gleeful smile on his way too pale face gave her the chills… and for some weird reason she liked it.

"Easy. I ambushed her while her team wasn't looking, cast the spell, and left." He simply explained, chuckling to himself.

"And… _why_ did you do that?"

"Boredom, mostly." He replied dismissively.

Needless to say, Anko was speechless for once.

XxxxX

"Hinata! Come to your senses!" he yelled as he parried another kunai with the Ashbringer. Somewhere along this quarrel he had remembered the weightless weapon on his back. The gem was still missing and he couldn't feel any power rushing through the blade though, no strength.

It was a common sword right now. Nothing more.

"I need to defeat you! For my team!" she reasoned the unreasonable as another flurry of Jyuken strikes went on its way upon the blonde.

Naruto used the sword to parry most of the attacks and even dodged some. The countless training hours along Hinata had made him understand her fighting style better than anyone. And he _knew _she wasn't giving it her all. That she was holding back. Her strikes weren't as accurate as they should as she fought back the fury that was taking over her soul, the strength behind the hits was meek as she held back most of her rage.

Hinata was still there. That determined look in her eye told him everything. It wasn't some mind-controlling jutsu that had taken over her. It wasn't some ironic maniac who controlled her and sent her against him. This was Hinata. Another side of her. The dark side of her…

XxxxX

"What _exactly, _does that shit of yours do?" she asked with even more dread at the even more gleeful smile on the warlock's face.

"Hehehe…" he chuckled to himself. "It's a unique spell that has the power to amplify emotions, negative ones I might add." He explained smoothly, as if he had practiced this speech.

"It takes **fear**, and makes it **terror**! It takes **anger**, and turns it into **bloodlust**! It takes **sadness**, and turns it to **despair**! It takes **rage**… and the user might as well become a berserker." Richard grinned at an unspoken memory and Anko had to admit, this whole shit was more sadistic and blood curling than any of Ibiki's merciless tortures.

She freaking liked it. Not that it was right, though.

Despite her self, she still asked "How we reverse it?"

Richard looked at her as if she had lost her mind… or she ruined a perfect moment of some kind. "Reverse? You mean to nullify it? No can do girl, that power doesn't lie in my grasp." He said and crossed his hands over his chest.

Anko quirked an eyebrow. "You mean…?" He sighed in exasperation "Meaning, while that spell amplifies dark emotions, the only way to stabilize one again is to counter-balance with positive emotions. Which is, right now…" he shook a finger "Im-po-ssi-ble."

XxxxX

A parry, a dodge, a strike, a faint. Another strike. This one nearly found its target, and Naruto cursed. He didn't want to harm her… ever. But what the hell was he supposed to do? Somehow her stamina had increased ten times over. Despite his best efforts, he had a hard time himself catching up with her speed. Her anger was flaring. It burned and churned like a seize less fire. He could see the pain behind these enraged eyes, the pain of hurting him, the pain of hurting herself while doing so.

'_Why… Hinata? What happened to you…?'_

His mental question reached no ears as she attacked again. He pierced the Ashbringer in the ground as he fully blocked her oncoming attack. "Hinata! Stop this already! There is no reason behind this…" "I have to… I have to!!" she yelled and drew back her hands, striking the blade again and again and again. Naruto could feel the force of her chakra even while being protected by the sword.

"I can't… _stand this any longer… _I can't _watch you ignore my feelings!_..." what the hell was she thinking anyway? She was occasionally mumbling incomplete and barely coherent sentences. Nothing made sense. Not this situation, not this Hinata.

"**Katon: Gogakyou no jutsu!" **he heard a mighty yell coming from behind her…

Naruto's first instinct was to get away. Flee from the incoming flames.

His second instinct was to protect her, even though she was out for blood, even though she was on a rampage, a part of him didn't really care. She was so focused on her assault that had probably failed to notice the incoming giant fireball.

And he couldn't use his 'Hand of Protection'. It wouldn't work on these fires.

Naruto unsheathed the Ashbringer from the ground…

"Hinata!!!"

XxxxX

"And how could someone achieve to bring out such feelings of… _purity?_" Anko spat the words. Richard's frown clearly said he didn't enjoy it either.

"Well, you can try giving flowers… or chocolate."

"Cut the crap." She snapped.

"Yeah, yeah…" he dismissed her with a gesture "Anyways, I don't really see _how _one could be emotionally able to apprehend my spell. Who's stupid enough to commit self-sacrifice anyway?"

XxxxX

The smoke slowly cleared as moths of flame danced around the scorched ground. Sasuke frowned as he squinted to get a better view.

"Did I get her…?" he whispered to himself and took out a kunai, prepared for any incoming attack. What he saw surprised him though. To the point his eyes went wide.

"Naruto!" he yelled and dropped his stance.

"What the f*ck are you doing?" he yelled and gripped his kunai harder.

Before him stood the image of complete idiocy. Naruto had put his own body before Hinata's protecting her from the gulf of flames with some kind of sword. His clothes where scorched, nearly ruined. He was panting and his hands and feet trembled. That _idiot _had taken a Gogakyou straight on. He was lucky he was even alive and not a roasted turkey.

But how the hell had he taken it…?

XxxxX

'_Divine Shield… what a trick' _Naruto smirked despite his condition. He had to ignite and drop his shield in the span of three seconds, which meant that he repelled most of the damage but took a good chunk of it as well.

At least _she _was safe…

But what about him? Would she stop her attacks now? Would she be astonished or moved enough to stop this?

Would she kill him from behind?

His heart and body ached at the thought, but he didn't turn to justify his thoughts. All he did was stand and breath slowly as he tried to calm his racing heart. Sasuke was still gaping at him, eyebrows twitching from extreme disbelief.

Then Naruto saw an emotion he didn't expect.

Fear.

"Naruto!! Watch out!"

Sasuke's warning came a second too late as Naruto turned around, not having enough time to do anything other than glance at Hinata's approaching form…

The blonde turned around, his body fully facing her as he gripped his blade from behind him, realizing his mistake of having it embed in the ground. He couldn't pull it out now… not fast enough.

Bracing himself for the what would probably be a tad too painful, Naruto waited and waited, even after he felt something warm press against him, entwine itself around his body and embrace him…

_Embrace him…_

Opening his eyes, sheer disbelief painted itself across his features. He guessed he looked pretty much like Sasuke at the moment…

The girl that was sobbing in his chest, quietly but strongly, the girl that was hugging him as if he was a lifeline, was surely Hinata, no doubt.

Yet he did doubt. What the hell was going on…?

XxxxX

"Awww, he ruined the mood!" Richard complained to himself as he watched the scene from afar, Anko besides him. The bitch had forced him to help make things clear… too bad he didn't get the chance.

"You said… it takes sadness… and makes it despair… right?" Anko whispered, amazed purple eyes gazing at the scene in wonder. It looked like some kind of drama that jumped out of a battle movie. The male battered yet standing tall as the seemingly wounded female clang to him, he gripping a sword tightly to his side.

It was weird, really.

Oh, and lets not forget the astonished idiot that gaped from the side.

XxxxX

"Gomen…" she whispered among choking on tears and gasps of sorrow. Naruto placed his free hand over her head and stroke her lightly, gently.

"Honto… gomenasai… Honto… honto…" she whispered over and over, as if she fought to keep back a scream, as if she fought to keep herself together.

"Daijobu…" he replied in a soft tone as well, closing his eyes and setting a little of his weight on her. She was so warm… such a comfortable feelings for his aching body. The wounds where already healing rapidly, due to the light and Kyuubi. He felt no pain.

"What happened… Hinata…?" he asked after a few more moments. She shook her head ever so faintly and resumed in crying over his chest. One moment, she was trying to kill him, the next, she was crying like a baby.

He concentrated on his hand, which lied on her head, grasping the strings of memory that danced within her mindscape, searching for the right ones…

Flinching at harsh memories of the past that randomly flew by, memories about her cousin, the loss of her mother, the harshness of her father, the game of favorites the clan played between her and her sister… he could feel and see every inch of them all, as if they where his.

Setting that past aside for the moment, he gripped the single string that illustrated the memories of the day… watching it carefully, he skipped to the moment he looked for, where he looked for.

It was… strange… right as her team was scouting around for enemies, Naruto and friends to be exact, someone approached from behind… none of them took notice until he was right next to her. She had no time to react and she passed out…

Naruto frowned as he replayed the image of the man. Tall, very thin, dressed in black robes, his face hidden by a cowl of similar color, leaving only a pair of wide yellow eyes and death-like pale skin to pierce through.

He clenched his fist unconsciously in anger.

An _undead_…

And he was toying around with _her_. He was playing with her!

For a moment, a very brief moment, the wind seemed to stand still, time and space didn't seem to matter and any echo of a sound vanished.

Then the Ashbringer flared, fire surging down the blade, the gem like mark appearing and shining once more in its rightful place… Naruto opened his eyes, leaving Hinata's mindscape for the moment. She was confused enough for him to be able to put her to sleep. She would be alright, for the time being.

Letting his senses flow, he scoured the whole forest in mere moments…

He frowned _'Gotcha…'_ and he was off, Hinata now gently lying against a tree, tear marks running down her stained cheeks, her expression peaceful for once.

Sasuke, on the other hand, was still gaping at the sight of Naruto suddenly popping a sword out of nowhere like that. What the fuck was going on…?

XxxxX

"Anko… sweetie, I believe it best that you be gone." Richard frowned towards the forest, his eyes glimmering dangerously as countless thoughts run through his mind. Anko barely registered the fact that flickers of flame had began sparkling in his hands…

"Get out of here!" he turned his deathly gaze at her and the snake mistress felt the ever so rare feelings of shivers running up and down her spine. As she turned to jump away…

"Who the fuck is your sweetie?!" yelled a blushing Anko as she threw a kunai at Richard's head. The warlock simply raised a hand and caught the blade without even taking his eyes off the unmoving forest. The kunai soon melted away into nothing but scrap in Richard's blazing grip.

Anko gulped and decided not to push any further. If the ever comment-full, cheerful and sadistic Richard was this serious, she didn't think he would hesitate to burn her alive as well.

XxxxX

'_Where are you…_' Naruto wondered as he flew around the endless trees. He was nearby… he could feel it. The Ashbringer flared at the prospect of vanishing even more of these unholy beasts… it was its purpose.

It didn't take him long to reach his destination. The man was probably stupid enough to leave himself open. A clearing? How easier could he make it?

But Naruto didn't think any strategy up, didn't wonder if there would be any traps. He gripped the Ashbringer and charged straight in, the blade ablaze with purging fire…

He didn't yell. No battle cries, no warning. He went straight for the man's head. Easy and quick it should be.

Imagine his surprise then, when the man simply rose a hand to grip the fiery blade of the sword with a fist made of ice…

"Who has who now…?" his voice was chilling, sarcastic and gleeful at the same time. Naruto's wide eyes looked into deathly yellow with horror. How could he stop such an attack? With his bare hands?

The man wasted no time as he pushed the blade down and shot another fiery fist at the blonde. Naruto barely managed to evade as he got over his surprise, the man's fist scorching his shoulder…

Richard easily shook the sword out of Naruto's surprised grip. With a swift motion over it, the whole blade was enclosed in a thick layer of ice. The young Paladin's wide eyes turned to watch the man play with _his _blade. _Tirion's _blade.

"**Hanma no Kougi! (Hammer of Justice)" **he shouted and an ethereal hammer made of bluish Light shot towards the bewildered Warlock. Richard's hand rose to create a flaming barrier, stopping the hammer midway.

Naruto grit his teeth. **"Hikari no Hantei! (Judgment of Light)" **the wind shifted as another hammer formed within his hand, this one made of pure gold, glimmering in the dimmer light of the sun.

Richard frowned at the sight. Nevertheless, he still set both hands ablaze as he enclosed the Ashbringer within an enchanted barrier, chains keeping it locked to the ground.

"Who are you…?" the man asked and Naruto's gaze frowned upon him at the question. The young paladin gritted his teeth again.

"My name is Uzumaki Naruto… your executioner." He spat.

But before he could even react, the robed wizard was already right next to him, a hand gripping his own free one.

"Hi! My name is Richard. I was really hoping you would notice that little spell of mine on your girlfriend and come for vengeance. You know, it's really boring with no other company than a woman you can't even kill, and I still hadn't had my breakfast today." Sigh "Well, I'm hoping you will put up enough of a challenge before I reduce you to dust. Not that it's likely though. Without the sword you are useless, no? So, just to get over with it already, mind if I incarnate you and be done with?" and all these while he shook his hand friendlily and gazed at him with wonder.

Naruto blinked a few times before processing all of the Warlock's words.

"Uhh… thank you but… I'm afraid I'll have to decline…" why the heck did he use polite speech anyway? This was the man that had made Hinata suffer! He was an undead too! He had to be cleansed!

"What a shame. Oh well." Richard's way too gleeful smirk sent Naruto all the warning he would ever get. Without even thinking the paladin pushed the warlock away, gripping his now scorched hand. It _hurt_…

Richard's fists where already enclosed in flames. "Oo, now you're a fast one." He commented and prepared for more.

Naruto gritted his teeth once more and chanted a short spell, healing his wound instantly. He gripped the ethereal hammer, his only weapon for now, and charged into battle…

Richard was more than waiting.

XxxxX

"He's so…" the voice was filled with enthusiasm.

"COOL!!" Kakashi picked his ear, checking if it was still working. He along with the other teacher's had found the snake-mistress peaking through the foliage down the open field, where a battle seemed to be taking place. They where all surprised nonetheless, witnessing the Kyuubi container fighting with a strange man that seemed to favor Katon jutsu. None of them had ever seen a jutsu that contained flaming fists into it though… neither ice based jutsu.

Kakashi should have stepped in… the man was an unidentified threat towards Konoha and his student. He should have charged in and stopped this ridicule.

But something told him not to. The fierce look in Naruto's eye, the power he was using… it was all so strange and familiar at the same time. Naruto had never gotten into much detail about what other skills he had other than the shinobi one's Kakashi taught him.

'_What tricks are up your sleeve, Naruto…?' _he wondered idly…

XxxxX

Dodging another fist, Naruto finally found an opening.

'_There!' _he yelled in his mind and his hammer found Richard mid-waist. The hammer seemed to be absorbed and fade into particles of Light as it made contact, Naruto now jumping away to keep his distance from the menacing warlock.

Richard frowned down at his side. There was no serious damage, neither did he feel any pain. Well, he never felt any pain to begin with, but…

With what was the blonde going to fight now?

Naruto smirked at the curious look in the man's eye. Whomever told him all he had was paladin techniques…?

He decided to go with the simple one.

"**Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" **he yelled out and a bunch of clones puffed into existence. Surprised they all where though, when Richard's face instead of contorting in fear… was happy?

"Oh, oh, please tell me they can bleed!" he asked, full of hope. All Narutos felt like falling to the ground…

"Uh, no." Naruto simply answered and it was somehow weird to see that happy smile fade from Richard's face. It felt like he had just taken away candy from a murderous sadistic kid. The robed man shook his head in grief. "Oh well. At least they are bound to scream." And with that, he began shooting bolts of fire and ice… everywhere. And indeed, they let out oh so glorious screams as each and every clone was either consumed in flames or encased in ice, the low temperature making them poof out of existence soon.

Naruto gaped as his clones where wiped like mere flies, one after another. Just who the hell was this guy…?

"And now… Finale!" and with both hands he sent a blazing beam towards the blonde… who poofed into smoke.

"What…?" he asked, raising a non-existent eyebrow. The ground under him seemed to tremble then for a moment, and Richard got a vague idea of what was going on…

But before he could react, a pair of hands shot out of the dirt, gripping him like steel. The man frowned, as did the shinobi that hid in the trees and watched the battle. They had all noticed the same thing.

He hadn't even tried to dodge it.

Four Narutos then emerged from the ground, each of them gripping a pair of kunais, charging at the still warlock. Richard regarded each of them with boredom. With palms extended, walls of ice began to form and rise to defend him.

And they did so as he was wholly closed into a cask of ice. All the Naruto's though didn't back away though as they warped a note around their kunai, threw them at the ice and began a set of hand-seals…

"**Katon: Kokyou no Doragon! (Fire Technique: Dragon's Breath)" **they all yelled and steams of fire shot from their mouths and towards the block of ice.

As the flames went over the explosive notes, ignition commenced and explosions came to add to the destructive inferno. All jounin watched with gaping mouths at the building fire, shocked beyond belief that _this _kid could use such a katon technique… and with four clones to add to it.

Kakashi simply blinked. Naruto had overdone it with the chakra usage… again. Kids never learn, do they?

All clones disappeared into clouds of smoke as the fire settled down, the chakra inside it fading away, small patches of flame licking on the green grass here and there. Only carnage was left though where the warlock once stood…

So one can imagine the surprise they all felt when they saw the man appearing out of thin air in the middle of the devastated ground, as if he was there the whole time and yet was not.

Kakashi blinked twice this time. He didn't feel any chakra coming from the warlock at all at the moment. He wasn't using jutsus…

Richard dusted himself off. "Phew, that was some good 'fwoosh' you got there kid." He shook some dust off his shoulder, then looked into the seemingly empty forest.

"Now, come out before I turn this place to ashes." For some reason, they all felt as if he was meaning what he said… and was more than capable of doing it.

"I'm afraid that won't be possible." Naruto walked out of the trees, smirking widely at the warlock, who regarded him with a disregarding gaze. "Don't test me kid. You might find yourself missing a limp." The idea seemed far too common, at least to him.

Naruto's smirk didn't waver though. The anger and fury that lied within his eyes before was no longer there.

Richard sighed and prepared to launch the final strike. He was bored already.

But he was quite surprised when he found his body unmoving. Looking down at himself, he realized he couldn't bunch an inch. Not on his own will.

Then he saw dark shadows connecting with his from the forest. Frowning upon the bushes, it seemed as if he wanted to burn them to ashes on the spot, if he could. Or rather, the one that hid in them.

Shikamaru walked out of his hiding spot, seeing that he was spotted, and pretty easily to add to it. **"Kagemane no Jutsu… **success" nonetheless.

"Chouji! You're up!" the Nara yelled as he set himself in the jutsu's stance, concentrating on keeping the warlock perfectly still.

"Ora ora ora!!" someone yelled from the other side of the clearing, and a large rolling ball shot out of the trees, straight for the wide eyed man. Richard struggled, managing to raise one hand despite Shikamaru's best efforts. Neither Naruto nor the jounin where surprised. It was a miracle the Nara boy kept him in place to begin with.

What they all feared though, was what he was going to do against Chouji's meat tank…

An inferno of flames shot out of his palm, fighting against the brute force of Chouji's attack. Thankfully for the chubby boy, even though as his technique was canceled, the damage he received was minimum due to the force of his own strike.

Richard frowned, preparing to freeze the fatty to death.

Instead though, he seemed to need to defend himself against a massive fireball that came his way. The wall of ice that rose from nowhere blocked the attack entirely.

Sasuke panted, as this was maybe the fourth fireball he used today. This thing was _exhausting_.

"**Gatsuuga!" **yelled a spinning Kiba as he and his companion became identical whirlwinds of fangs and claws, aiming for the still standing warlock.

Richard quickly threw a beam of force towards the Nara with his free hand, sending the boy flying to the trees, his whole front body scorched from the attack. The warlock wasted no time as he jumped away from the menacing strike of the Inuzuka.

But he failed not to retort as he froze Akamaru on the spot, the poor dog encased in a block of ice, unable to even blink. Kiba gaped for a moment as his companion was so easily incapacitated.

It would be Kiba's turn was it not for a swarm of bugs protecting him from the icy beam. The warlock sighed as another newcomer seemed to have entered the battle. This was getting irritating.

Shino's bugs swarmed around his hands as the boy prepared for the next assault, to attack or defend would it be.

Naruto quickly made his way over Akamaru, using the Light to dispel the block of ice before the dog was killed by the cold. Thankfully, the little pup only had some chills as it barked loudly at Richard.

The blonde turned to tend to Shikamaru as well, before he stopped in his tracks.

Hinata was already there, healing the unconscious Nara through the Light. It was amazing what quick and wonderful job the divine power would do over wounds. What was once scorched and dead skin was now replaced by clean healthy one. As if nothing had happened to begin with.

She smiled at his surprised expression and pressed a finger against her lips, motioning him to keep quiet. Naruto dumbly nodded, not noticing the blush that rose to his face. She was too freaking cute for her own good.

Concentrating on the opponent again, he was amazed to find his friends, all of them, battling against the man as one. Kiba and Akamaru would constantly keep him on the run while Shino's bugs dared sacrifice themselves to protect them all from the deadly attacks of their opponent. Sasuke had also engaged in melee combat, in which the warlock seemed pretty adept as well.

Chocolate monks for the win.

Naruto shook his head, launching back into combat.

XxxxX

"ENOUGH!" with one mighty blast of power, everyone froze on the spot as the Ice Age seemed to have dawned upon the small clearing. Trapped or knocked unconscious, none of them could do a thing as Richard's eyes shone an open blue color, like flowing water, instead of his deathly yellow ones.

All but Naruto. Divine Shield was an amazing trick. Damn bubble-boys.

Naruto wasn't done yet though. He had little time before the shield faded and the blasts of howling wind and snow hit him full force and made him into a snow statue like his companions.

He had only one option. One chance.

Tirion had once told him that the Ashbringer was a weapon that bonded itself with its user's soul. It was a part of him, and he was part of it. It was a blade that resided in his soul, not his body.

It was in this moment that Naruto decided to truly test the gone paladin's words. Closing his eyes and summoning all his power, he concentrated to materialize the Ashbringer in his hand…

But nothing happened. The enchanted case where the warlock had closed the blade in seemed to disrupt his call. Well… if the blade didn't hear the voice of the Light through the environment…

Maybe it would, through him.

He tried again… only five seconds before the shield went down.

This time, particles of light formed in his hand, taking the shape of the legendary sword. Four seconds.

Gripping it tightly and aiming at the raging warlock, the blade was set ablaze with a fire that blew away all cold around him. Whatever snow or ice would fall in its wake was immediately melted to simple water.

Three seconds.

Setting his feet ready, he launched off towards his target, blade poised to strike. Two seconds.

He was only a meter away. Just a little more…

One second.

XxxxX

"That's one hell of a battle." Asuma commented as he munched on a sandwich.

"What are you talking about?! Our students are getting killed out there!" Kurenai screeched in terror despite herself. She still didn't understand why they all had kept their lazy asses back in the safety of the forest while their students fought against an opponent a tad too strong.

"Relax. He won't kill them. In one go. He likes to play with his victims." Anko reassured, or at least thought she did. Kurenai felt more hysteric with the second.

Kakashi himself looked amazed as he taped everything with a camera that none of them knew from where the hell popped out from. His lone eye went away from the winter that had taken over the clearing and looked boringly back at them.

"What? It's not like you see such stuff everyday." He said and went back on his taping. Everyone sighed, except for Asuma who kept watching the battle with interest, munching on a sandwich all the time.

XxxxX

Richard looked down at his chest, where a blade seemed to procure.

"I am no physic, but I dare say that a blade procuring from one's chest isn't healthy." He commented and looked back at Naruto with bored eyes, the boy panting from the heavy effort.

"Now, if you'll excuse me…" he said, gripping the blade.

"Shut the fuck up!!" Naruto yelled and slapped him hard on the face, not sure why. Oh right, he had freaking taken the Ashbringer in the chest and was still saying such shit!

"Et tu cale…?" the warlock mumbled before falling to the ground, unconscious.

Naruto blinked once, before looking at his palm in wonder.

XxxxX

Hinata had thankfully avoided the blast, hiding in the trees and dragging Shikamaru along. With more energy to spent than the exhausted blonde, the girl went on her way to unfreeze her friends. Thankfully, other than a little numbness, they didn't seem worse for wear.

"That was some shitty battle." Kiba commented, flexing his shoulders.

"Indeed." Was all Shino added, shaking his legs a bit.

"Hooray for idiocy." Ino mumbled as she and Sakura helped Hinata bandage the boys up. The fools had just barged into battle without allowing them to take part… or rather, they didn't want to take part. Sakura's and Ino's abilities would be no match for this guy… they would just be in the way.

They both knew that. And they where both ashamed of themselves. In a time of need, they where useless in the end. All they could do was tend to the wounded. All they could do…

Everyone conversed around each other, keeping only an eye on the duo of young paladins that took care of Richard… it seemed like a purposeful moment.

XxxxX

"I…" she tried to begin, yet the words died in her throat.

Naruto smiled back at her. "I know." Was all he said as he shackled Richard's left leg and arm to the ground with Light-blessed chains. Hinata did the same to the opposite part of the body. For some weird reason, the warlock was sleeping with both eyes open… quite weird. And uncomfortable for them.

"I know… no need to apologize anymore, Hinata." He said gently and she smiled back, even though she felt a new wave of tears assaulting her eyes.

Naruto grinned back at her "There's no way I'd keep a grudge. I'm too awesome anyway." He said with mock pride, puffing out his chest. A laugh was earned by the petite girl.

She moved to hug him, burying her face in his chest…

Naruto was taken aback for a moment. "Hinata…?"

"You're a baka." It was a whispered statement. He grinned.

"I'm an awesome baka." He added with a laugh.

XxxxX

"Aren't they a couple yet?" Asuma asked with bewilderment. Those two were quite the cute sight.

Kakashi shook his head "The factor of idiocy multiplied by shyness with the addition of fear for one's own feelings makes this equation quite hard."

Asuma's eye twitched "What are you, Kakashi, a mathematic?"

"No." was the simple reply.

XxxxX

"So, this was an indeed interesting fight. Well done everyone, glad you're still alive." Kakashi said with a smile on his face, the other teachers right behind him. Everyone's eye twitched at the man's carefree attitude. Anko on the other hand, was already by Richard's side, poking him with curiosity.

"Ne, ne, is he dead?" she asked, placing a hand over his chest. No heartbeat. But that was to be expected anyway.

Naruto glared at the man's form "Tse, you wish." He nearly spat "But I have some questions for this guy before I finish him off…" he mumbled to himself, letting his weight fall on the Ashbringer which was embedded to the ground once more, the glimmering gem now gone as the power had left the blade.

"The time for the test is already over, Kakashi-sensei." Shikamaru pointed out of the blue, earning the surprised stare of everyone. The Cyclops though happily nodded.

"Yes, yes. And you all did an excellent job." He complimented and even more surprised gapes this time where aimed at him.

"What do you mean?" Shikamaru wondered with an arched eyebrow. Kakashi sighed, motioning to Asuma.

The man took a breath from his nicotine stick before setting it aside.

"As some of you might be aware, the real purpose of this test isn't about the bells. It's about…"

"Teamwork" everyone mumbled as one. Asuma grinned "Exactly."

"But we still didn't get bells." Sakura said, disappointed. Kurenai smiled at her.

"As the smoke-freak pointed out, Sakura, teamwork was what we tested here today. Even if you had taken enough bells or not, you could all pass or all fail depending on how well you worked with your team. The plan in the end was for us to see what unison could the winning team have when they would have to sacrifice a member in order to move on. But, we didn't get to that stage since this guy popped out." She motioned to the sleeping Richard, who was still poked mercilessly by a grinning Anko.

"And you guys where more than excellent in engaging combat with a far superior opponent. Not only did you all survive but you defeated him as well." Kakashi said "And I got some good material." He patted something in his pocket and smiled, but said nothing else.

"So, you guys all pass!" his cyclonic smile was wider than ever.

The cheers that erupted could be heard all around this small patch of forested land.

"By the way…" Shikamaru started once again.

"Naruto, Hinata… I saw you both using some weird powers. And not only that, this guy used no jutsu nor chakra. He didn't use any hand seals yet cast such powerful… _spells_, you can say, against us. And why the hell is he sleeping?" everyone turned at Naruto and Hinata, _finally _noticing the blade that Naruto carried.

Both sighed as Naruto took the sword out of the ground and channeled some power through it. The gem immediately shimmered in its rightful place and the sword hummed with a gentle, calming tone.

"Sit down, everyone. I've got a looong story here."

XxxxX

"WoW…" was all Kiba could exclaim after Naruto was done. By that time, everyone was so entranced in the story that even Kakashi had put his book away to hear in detail.

Hinata smiled back at them all "And generally, that's how we ended up like that." She said.

Shikamaru scratched his head "Still, you're either super lucky for finding something like that randomly… or a big idiot. Depends." He shrugged.

"What do you mean?" Naruto asked questioningly as he sheathed the Ashbringer on his back.

"Well, on one hand, you're lucky because you have a power no one else in this world has. But you're an idiot too because by taking up this power, you've given yourself an even greater responsibility. But, not my problem." Shikamaru commented and relaxed back on the soft grass.

The others followed with swift remarks, or how awesome it was that only he and Hinata had this 'Light' power. All the duo of paladins could do was smile nervously back at them. They weren't used to having such talks with other people…

And by the way, where the hell was Richard? Their senseis seemed to be missing too.

Naruto frowned, yet kept himself composed. Kakashi was probably escorting the warlock for interrogation… how much would the man do against four jounin anyway?

XxxxX

"Thank Kami-sama, he's light like a stick." Kakashi said, shifting the warlock on his shoulder, making it a little more comfortable.

Anko snorted "He's a bony guy."

Asuma regarded her with a glance as he took a puff from his cigarette "Say Anko, where did you meet that guy anyway?" he asked, remembering having seen her arrive in the village with said robed man days prior.

Anko didn't look like she really wanted to answer. One point for being energetic. "I found him during my latest mission… he had butchered a band of bandits and was covered in gore and blood…" "I can see the attraction." Kurenai commented but Anko only regarded her with a glare "Anyways, I was alone the guy didn't seem satisfied with his work there. He tried to kill me too in the beginning." Strangely enough, the woman seemed to be reminiscing a happy memory.

"In the… beginning?" Kakashi was bewildered.

The snake mistress nodded "Hai. When I started swearing and cut off one of his arms, he just stopped fighting, said he liked me, and started following me around."

"He… liked you for cutting off his arm?" Kurenai noticed that at the moment, he did have both his arms.

"What we have here, is called Chemistry, my friends." Kakashi's face contorted in a smile, while Asuma laughed openly. A blushing Anko didn't hesitate kicking both of them in the gut though. Kakashi was defenseless too as he carried the warlock.

"Go to hell! That piece of shit at least helped me complete my mission, in his own way. That's why I allowed him to tag along back in Konoha. I thought he would be a great asset to our forces, that's all!" a string of colorful adjectives followed in quiet mumbles as Anko walked a few steps before the group. Everyone sighed at the obviousness of it all.

"Nevertheless, we have to bring this guy to the Hokage. Powerful as he is, he does seem too unstable to begin with." Asuma said and the others nodded.

Having Richard in their ranks could be a blessing… or a disaster. It depended on the mood.

XxxxX

**A Couple of Months Later…**

"Pahh… ONE MORE!!" he yelled and the barman was quick to bring another round of ice cold beer. Needless to say, the short man swallowed it in one go.

Poll sighed next to his friend. "You know, your liver might fail any moment now with all the beer you vacuum everyday." He was pretty sure that if beer was spilled on the floor, Gorley would firstly pummel the culprit, then make him down a whole glass to compensate.

Well, that was just how Gorley was. A beer worshiper.

"Bah! You call that strong?! I'll kick yer bloody warios to death!" the fact that he turned round and round on his stool didn't give out the intimidating tone as much as he would like…

"Alright, alright Gorley. You had enough for today my friend. Leave the warriors aside and roll a paladin instead." Poll said as he got up and dragged a drunk Gorley out of the bar, the paladin shouting curses about mutilate rogues and the such…

XxxxX

"We've been doing Ds for Kami knows how long…" Sakura commented with a sigh as she put her weight on the broom she held. Sasuke didn't answer as he continued peeling potatoes, neither did Naruto, who kept scrubbing all around the floor.

"Can't be helped, Sakura. New genin are supposed to do a number of D ranks before moving to something harder." Was all the Uchiha mumbled as he finished another potato. Naruto stopped his insane scrubbing for a moment.

"Phew… well, it would be far easier if Kakashi-sensei allowed me to use Shadow Clones… these guys aren't only for combat, you know." Naruto complained and wiped his forehead.

They had all been working hard these past few months after being made genin. D missions as they where, chores never backed from being tiring nonetheless. There would be times that teams would combine for large scale… 'missions', but generally, all missions where handled by each team separately.

Kakashi was talking about 'building teamwork' and such, but Naruto could hardly see that. They where already bonded enough to be able to distribute chores between themselves. They needed something more, a challenge that would truly test their bonds, something that was more than wiping the floor or weeding a garden.

How much danger did painting a fence had anyway?

Life threatening, if you consider the ever so deadly power of the nail, or the legendary thump attack that occurred under a hammer's influence.

Yep. Deadly.

They all sighed. Kakashi was relentless as for them completing a bunch of Ds first, bonding and such. Sasuke was clearly aggravated, if you knew where to look. The silent treatment he gave nearly everyone other than his teammates said as much. Not that he talked much to people in general anyway…

Sakura was openly complaining to the silver-haired jounin about them needing something more of a challenge. Kakashi never seemed to heed her whatsoever, always dismissing her complains with fainted ignorance… or an ero-novel.

Naruto had just gone with the flow. And was glad that all of his friends had kept their word in not telling anyone about his and Hinata's powers. People where already after him for having the Kyuubi inside him. How would they react if they knew that the 'demon' had even more power?

As for Poll and Gorley… Kakashi had mentioned a legend about a midget-man that run around bars and finished all their stock on beer… he also carried a hammer and a companion who always dragged him out of said beverage-selling structures.

It didn't take long for Naruto to understand who these mysterious figures where. Beer said it all. As for Sasuke and Sakura, it remained an urban legend.

Regardless of talks and such, they had already completed a total of 33 D ranked missions, including this one.

XxxxX

"Thank you for your hard work!" said the old man as he smiled at the three. They all nodded back and turned around, heading away towards their waiting sensei.

"Jeese, Kakashi-sensei. What had you been doing while we worked ourselves to the ground? Reading porn?" Naruto said dryly in which Kakashi responded accordingly.

"Did you say something?" and to prove his point, the Cyclops popped out his favorite book. Naruto grunted at the sight, but said spoke not for a moment.

"Oi, isn't that guy over there burning Icha Icha novels? Oh! It's even a 'First Volume Golden Edition'!" Sasuke said out of the blue, pointing over yonder. The world seemed to freeze instantly as Kakashi halted all functions for a moment.

"Bu… burning…?" his voice was barely a whisper.

A hand went for his headband. "NOOOOOOOOOO!!!!"

XxxxX

"Sometimes, you guys are too evil. Aren't you supposed to be the good guy, Naruto?" Sakura complained as she nursed an unconscious Kakashi. Obviously, the shock was too much for him to handle.

Naruto gave her the thumps up. "Told ye, Shadow Clones work for everything! Even for Ero-novels." Then he pretended a pouting position "Besides, it was too much of a good chance to simply pass up, ne?" he grinned and Sakura couldn't help but grin back. It was indeed a good prank. Even Sasuke was smirking.

"Ugh… Icha… Icha… burning… yamete… onegai…" Kakashi mumbled in his sleep, shifting around. His words earned another feat of laughter from the trio.

XxxxX

"You guys… really should stop this. You'll make me die from heart-attack one day…" Kakashi whined and his students simply smirked at him. The jounin couldn't help but shook his head at their antics. Kids these days…

Aside from the mishaps, they had finally reached the Hokage tower once more. Naruto's eye twitched at the towering structure. Day by day they would come here and take on even more boring missions, either by Iruka-sensei or the Hokage when he was available.

Good times.

He shook his head as they entered the Missions Assignment office. Dreaded place. Here a part of your future was decided. You either took a good mission and went off for lively adventures, or sulked inside Konoha while doing imprudent D ranks…

"Ah, Kakashi. Done already?" the Hokage greeted them with a smile. Naruto had to admit, even through all the hardships he went through his long life, all the hard work he had to put up with everyday, he still put a smile on his face. He was still who he was.

"Hai, Hokage-sama. The mission was accomplished with no complications and all requirements where met within time limitation."

The trio behind him frowned. He spoke as if chores was some kind of honorary action. Woo, they where heroes, no?

"I see, I see. Then, I believe you'd like the rest of the day off?" the Hokage sounded a little weird today… he usually dismissed them without much of a second thought.

"To tell you the truth, Hokage-sama…" Kakashi seemed reluctant for a moment.

"I, Hatake Kakashi, recommend Team 7 for higher stature." He said and bowed. All three teens where stunned for a moment…

The Hokage smiled, as if he was expecting this. He clearly did. "I see, I see… well, I believe them to be ready as well. 33 successful D ranks without the slightest mistake and a bunch of satisfied customers. A job well done." He nodded to his own words.

"Very well. Team 7, today you shall be assigned your first…" A pause for effect. Oh the drama.

"C rank mission." He looked up at them, a small smile towards their surprised faces.

Naruto was the first one out of the stupor as he grinned back at the aged Hokage.

"Heh, bring it on, I say!"

"Tseh." Was all Sasuke commented, yet his smirk spoke wonders.

"Yatta!" Sakura was more than cheerful. Delighted would be more appropriate.

"Ne, ne, jii-san, what are we supposed to do?" Naruto said, full of excitement. Despite his usually calm demeanor, his uneasiness was clear as day. Hiruzen smiled back at the blonde.

"The orders lie within this folder." He produced said piece of paper out of a drawer "Kakashi will get into the details. Now, if you please…" he motioned for them to take their leave. All four bowed before the Hokage before turning around and exiting the room. The Hatake though couldn't help but throw a side glance at the Hokage. Sarutobi only nodded in response, a solemn expression on his face.

Kakashi didn't waste any more time as he walked outside along with his team, altogether heading towards the exit of the tower. The three of them were happily guessing what adventures would lie before them in this new mission.

The jounin threw a wary glance at the folder within his hands…

'_Land of Waves… Things are about to get interesting… ne?'_

XxxxX

**And so ends yet another gleeful chapter, while the Arc of the Land of Waves begins… hehehe, I can't wait ^^**

**Lo, here comes the**

_**Omake: Say 'Ah'!**_

"Say, Richard." Naruto said, full of curiosity. The warlock looked up from the book he was reading, apparently something about 'Jack the Ripper'…

"What happens when, [The Unstoppable Force] hits [The Immovable Object]?" he scratched his blonde head. Richard regarded him with a bored look.

"Chuck Norris dies." He replied simply.

Naruto fell on the floor, PwNeD style.

XxxxX

"Kakashi-sensei!! Kakashi-sensei!!" Sakura was full of enthusiasm as she run up to her teacher. The man's lone eye went down to look at her far shorter form… and that single eye expanded to the point it could almost pop out.

"Ne, ne, Kakashi-sensei… sensei?" Sakura looked curious and cute at the same time as she joggled her giant breasts up and down. Kakashi was actually drooling out of his mask…

"Eh… ah… sensei… you have a weird look in your eye…" Sakura took a step back, seeing that her teacher no longer seemed to have any connection with reality. Hell, his eye had turned into a H, for hentai.

"Oh ho ho, what a gifted lady you are!!" said an enthusiastic much older voice from above. Both Sakura and Kakashi looked up to see an old man with long spiky gray heir, some kind of red outfit and sandals on his feet.

"Ji… Ji… Jiraiya-sama!!" Kakashi yelled out of nowhere, falling on his knees as if a deity had appeared before him. Oh, he had also taken out his book and held it as if in offering to a God.

"Hahahaha! Of course, I'm the greatest of all great ninja in this world! The author of history! The…" something (hard) came to connect with the back of the man's head. He stumbled and fell on the floor, head first.

"Ero-sennin! Train me!!" Naruto appeared out of nowhere. There was one Naruto yelling at the aged ninja… then another one, then another one, then another one… countless Narutos emerged from every damn roof, window, door, tree, even the sewers! There was one under an old lady's oversized dress too! All yelling 'Train me, train me' like a chorus.

The sweating Jiraya didn't seem to find this funny though as he stood up and looked for a path to escape. None, there was no hope. He was surrounded.

"Jiraiya-sama! Nigete! I'll hold them off!" Kakashi said, full of resolve as he stood up and set his one hand out, gripping it with the other.

"No! You won't make it, Kakashi!!" Jiraiya yelled back. The Narutos were closing in now, the 'Train me's becoming more and more audible, close.

The man looked back at the sannin, a sad smile on his hidden face.

"I know." And with that, lighting crackled within his hand, power surged and the thunder seemed to roll in the sky.

"**RAIKIRI!!!" **he roared and went straight through a bunch of Narutos, creating an opening. "Now, Jiraiya! Run!" the long haired man had tears in his eyes as he sprinted towards the small opening Kakashi sacrificed his life to make.

"I'll always remember you, my friend." He said as he passed by the fighting Cyclops.

"I'll always remember you too… forever." Kakashi's resolve was unrelenting as he Raikiried another Naruto.

And Jiraiya was off towards the setting sun, away from the raging battle.

"I'll fight you till time stops! Till there is no power left in this body! Till… Aaaaaaargh!!" he yelled in despair as the 'Train me' chorusing clones swarmed over him, leveling him to the ground.

And thus fell the mighty Kakashi, in a battle of life and death where he was defeated in combat, but victorious, as he protected something precious to him…

Well, that's the dramatic version. After the clones where done harassing Kakashi, they all left the dazed Cyclops on the ground and went off towards Jiraiya's general direction, shouting 'Train me' all the while.

Sakura, too stunned to even breath, fell on the ground, unconscious. Too much for one girl to take.

Sasuke on the other hand, was laughing like crazy, a certain video camera in his hand as he taped the last moments of this epic video. He had an especially close cut on Sakura's breasts…

Don't ask.

XxxxX

"Since when does Sakura have such big breasts?" Hinata pouted, standing up and down on her hills.

Naruto grinned at her. "Don't worry. You're far cuter anyway. On every aspect…" He said meaningfully and she giggled in response, reaching up to plant a kiss on his lips.

"Mm, got plans for tonight, don't you?" he said with a smirk and she smiled back.

"I sure do" she replied, entwining her hands behind his neck, going for another kiss. He was anything but reluctant as he leaned in himself.

And so this small story ends, with the setting sun on their backs, a screaming Jiraiya and 'Train me' clones…

XxxxX


	17. Chapter 17: Setting Forth

**A/N: Disclaimer: I own neither Hellsing, nor Naruto, nor Richard for that matter. I had forgotten to renounce my properties on the last chapters, my apologies. But I do own Poll and Gorley as characters ^^**

**So I was planning to add some vampirism later on the Scourge side. Most of you guys know them as 'Dreadlords' ^^ But I thought, 'Won't I need a counter-balance for that? Something to spice things up on both sides' and POOF, I stumble upon Hellsing, one of the most bloody animes I've ever set eyes upon. The TV series aren't that good… one can say they suck, but the OVA are too uber for words to fit them. And I also like Seras a lot ^^ what a character that girl is.**

_**The Ashbringer: Shinobi of the Light**_

_**Chap**__**ter 17: Setting Forth  
**_

**In a home hidden within the small forests of Snow Country…**

"Shella…" his voice was quiet, barely above a whisper. A purple finger came to rest on his lips reassuringly. He looked up at her pale eyes, those reassuring and calm eyes that always seemed to sooth his soul. This troubles, broken soul…

"It's okay… you should be heading back to ojii-san now. He'll be worried." She spoke softly. He shook his head "But what about you? The last time we met was months ago… and now… and now…" he seemed to be fighting back tears.

She shushed him and hugged him tightly against her chest, her expression changing among compassion, dread, fear, love…

"Darion… please…" her voice held pain. Darion took a step back, looking back into those pale silver eyes, the perfect angles of her face, the long yet cute altogether elfish ears, the seemingly long eyebrows, delicate eyelids, long blue hair that matched the color of his eyes, her soft purple skin, those thin, matching lips…

How could he ever bid them farewell?

"The darkness is nearing, Shella… I have a responsibility. Undead have been sighted at various points around the land of Wind… same as Snow and Grass. If the Ebon Blade doesn't take action soon… all will be lost…" memories of tragedies in his homeland assaulted his mind. He knew what the Scourge could do. He knew it too well.

Shella didn't hesitate at hugging him tightly once more, wanting to take all these thoughts away, fade the pain, the suffering, the memories… to take them all away, free him…

"The night is still young, Darion… please… stay with me…" she pleaded, taking his face in her relatively small hands. She was indeed somehow small built, even for a night elf.

Darion smiled fondly. "Will you come with me, Shella?" he asked, earning the widening of her eyes.

"Come with… you…?" she whispered. He nodded "You'll no longer have to hide! If anyone tries to hurt again…" the cold gaze that took over him at the mere thought was freezing. She shuddered, at both the idea and his gaze.

"The humans of this world aren't fond of… monsters…" it bewildered her to no end that she would refer to herself in this way. There was nothing wrong with her back in Azeroth…

"And nothing is wrong now!" Darion said as if he read her thoughts. Maybe he did. He always seemed so perceptive over what she was thinking. "They just don't know… humans are always afraid, of what can't be explained…"

"Can a night elf and a human death knight be explained?" she asked, smiling at him.

"Can anything?" he answered back, smiling himself. She shook her head and he leaned in, pressing a kiss on her lips.

"Night elves and humans… it would sound _absurd_ in Azeroth. Can you imagine?" He said sarcastically, earning a giggle from her form underneath him. The bed was soft… warm…

"Well, we're not the first… in the end we're all humanoids, no? Love knows no bounds…" she whispered and entwined her hands around his neck, pulling him down for another kiss, this time deeper, more passionate.

The night was still young…

XxxxX

**Somewhere within the mountains of Kiri…**

"This is _too _freaking weird." Gorley complained. Poll sighed besides him but spoke no words.

"Talking about your mustache, sortie?" said a certain annoyed warlock. Poll regarded both of them with a wary glance. Would they ever stop bickering like a pair of schoolgirls?

"It's a full-grown beard yer rotting buffoon!" nope, schoolgirls _didn't _have beards. That would be scary.

"I bet that you'll rot faster than me when I rip your heart off, will you not?" his threats sounded like a regular woman speaking about cleaning supplies. Poll shook his head and extended a hand towards Gorley and Richard, silencing them both and ending the conversation. If one could call it that.

"Will you two shut up? Hokage-sama has assigned all three of us a mission! A _MISSION!_ Do you have any idea how much faith must he have in three outsiders to let us take even the slightest order?" he glared at them both under his hood. Gorley sighed as the spell wore off.

"It's the warlock's fault! He assaulted three teams of genin!"

"I prefer to call it, 'An entertaining venture.'" He said with a wide smile.

"Richard, they nearly killed you…" Poll pointed out and the warlock seemed thoughtful for a moment. "You're right." He said, dejected.

"Anyways…" Poll continued "Our objective is clear. There has been an organization calling itself 'The Ebon Blade' hiding itself somewhere in the mountains of either Ho or Kiri. All we have to do is find their leader and learn as much as we can about them."

"Think Darion will be happy to see us?" Gorley snickered while Poll shook his head.

"Not at all. I can't believe he actually managed to lead the Ebon Blade around this land. There is nothing like Alliance and Horde here. Things are far more complicate and more peculiar. The factions are many. But… if we somehow manage to make him an ally of Konoha, it would be a great asset not only to the village, but for us as well." He said as they kept walking up the empty hill road.

"Why should we help Konohagakure in the first place?" Richard asked in annoyance "It's not like we owe them anything. They should be just another faction among these foolish humans." The warlock shook his head. It was Gorley who answered his question though…

"That village, believe it or not, holds the legacy of the Mograine… it would be an insult to Darion himself to not let him know of what is going on there." Richard looked up in curiosity.

"You mean… that kid?" the other two nodded in unison.

"Yep… that blonde brat is the student Tirion Fordring left behind along with the legacy of Darion's father. The Ashbringer… Darion will understand." Gorley said and took a few quicker steps with a grunt. Climbing never was his forte.

Richard's features twisted in a thoughtful expression for a moment. A rare moment for the carefree warlock. "That means I can't kill him?" he spoke after that long moment passed. The other two glared at him.

"No" they said in unison. All Richard did was mumble curses in frustration…

XxxxX

"You know… it's not always easy…" his voice sounded sad, tired. He took another healthy bite from the cinnamon roll in his hand. She only smiled back at him, holding the box of sweets in her hands carefully.

"It was never bound to be easy, Naruto-kun. Not in Azeroth, not here." Her gentle voice was something so soothing to hear… it felt as if the world didn't matter when she spoke. It made him want to hear her, only her.

"Protection… that's a paladin's job, right?" he chuckled "Yet we are the only paladins on this world… weird I say." He popped what remained of the cinnamon in his mouth. The gentle smile she directed at him didn't waver.

"We are unique then. Ne?" she titled her head. He grinned back at her. God was she cute.

"We're already unique to begin with. How much uniqueness can this body stand anyway?" he patted his chest as if to prove a point. She looked up at the setting sky, the vivid colors of the sunset bathing the world in all its glory, in all its colors. It was beautiful, especially from up here…

"Probably a lot more…" she whispered yet he heard her. Smiling, he turned to look at the sky again.

"Hmph." He grinned at an unspoken memory, earning her attention.

"What?"

"Just remembered something Tirion once said…" the sad smile he portrayed looked like that of one who had lived one too many things in his life…

"He once taught me a poem. He said that whenever should I feel away from the Light, whenever my will would waver or the Ashbringer slipped my hand, I should remember these words… this oath."

"_**When shadow comes to claim our souls, some must rise, the light of old. Names in stone, spirits in legend, deeds unknown, yet never forgotten. These are the Duranin, of honor within, and of fear without. Remember them… when in hope you doubt."**_

"Duranin can roughly translate in our language as 'protector'." He continued, looking away into the setting sun. Somehow, this seemed so familiar… this sunset, this world. Her. It all fitted so well with each other. As if this scenery was meant to be. A majestic creation.

"So… we are the Duranin?" Hinata asked, her tone curious as she titled her head at him, waving her legs up and down.

He shook his head "We still have ways to go before we can call ourselves 'protectors'. Before I can be the real Ashbringer." She could feel his doubt, his anxiety, his fear, his resolve, his determination. All these emotions swirling in his heart and soul, a maelstrom that never quieted, never died.

"We have all the time in the world, Naruto-kun." She said, setting the now empty box of cinnamons aside, the last one in her hand. She took a small bite and chewed slowly.

"Indeed we have." He nodded. "We have the Light. It will guide us in our time of need. That I know." His confidence was unwavering.

"We have each other." She said… and blushed, realizing her words. It sounded so right and so wrong at the same moment, something she just had to say yet she would prefer to stay unvoiced.

"Um… I mean… we are both paladins and…" she tried to cover up, looking anywhere but at him.

"Ne, Hinata…" he said, his voice low, gentle, less than a whisper yet more.

"N-nani?" she said quietly as well, shyly trying to look back at him. Was it her idea, or was he closer than before? Was he leaning in? Her heart felt like exploding, whether this was her imagination or not.

"You…" she turned her head towards him, realizing he was _really _close.

"Have something over here…" He said, gently kissing the side of her lips. She was too stunned to move, too stunned to think, too stunned to breath. All she could do was stay shock still. He chuckled.

"Well, see you later Hinata-chan. Tomorrow morning I have a big mission to attend to." He said and stood up from the edge of the cliff they sat upon, securely yet on the edge.

She didn't know how long she had stayed like this, blushing like there was no tomorrow and holding on a cinnamon roll. Wait… cinnamon roll?

Looking down at her hand, the sweet was no longer there. She sighed. Naruto was such a devil sometimes, tricking her to take the last cinnamon. Nevertheless she smiled. His lips where so warm and sweet, probably because of what they were eating. She stood up, setting her clothes straight and preparing to leave the Hokage mountain as well. Her heart was overwhelmed with joy, her whole body trembled with anxiety. Naruto had kissed her… he really had. The world seemed to spin yet mattered not, time seemed to go by so fast yet she found it endless. What would happen when she met him again? Would he kiss her?

She turned inwards, grasping the strings of the Light that was woven within her existence, searching for the connection she always had with Naruto, that Light-blessed string that kept them together, the way she could always feel his emotions when she wanted to, the way she could find him even if he was on another world.

She giggled at the embarrassment and mutual anxiety that seemed to have taken over the blonde. For once in a long time, their feelings seemed to be in much more synch that they could ever imagine…

And it all began with cinnamons.

XxxxX

What was he doing, really? Was he playing with her emotions? Did he feel exactly the same? Did he love her…?

All these thoughts, all these fears gnawed at him. Why had he done it in the first place, he would never know. She just looked so damn cute and beautiful at the same time, bathed in the orange sunlight and with bits of cinnamon on her lips, he just couldn't freaking resist.

The question here wasn't if she would return his feelings, like normal love-struck people would worry about. The question was if _he _could keep up. Hinata treasured him like a child, worshipped him like a deity, loved him like every second counted in eternity. And yet she found it in herself to stand in par with him, stay by his side, be an equal. She was _perfect_.

Would he be able to keep up with her? Would he treasure her, love her? Would he be enough…?

Deep in his thoughts as he was, Naruto never noticed the spiky-haired jounin walking up to him, his nose buried in his orange book, never noticing the white-dressed blonde either.

The result? A good, yet not so healthy bump of the two. Of course it was only Naruto being knocked back, due to size differences.

"Itai, itai… uh, Kakashi-sensei." His tone was affirmative, not a cheerful note in it, not a happy or sad one. He simply acknowledged the man's existence.

Kakashi blinked at that, lowering his book and looking down at the blonde. "Hey, Naruto. Anything up?" he asked, curious. Naruto didn't answer for a moment.

The blonde shook his head "Too many things, sensei. Too many."

The man chuckled "You sound like an old man debating about life." Yet the boy didn't seem to appreciate the attempt at humor. Kakashi sighed "Well, if there's anything you want to talk about, I'm always here Naruto." He said and set his book back in place, continuing to read.

Naruto remained still in his spot for a few moments, even after Kakashi passed by him.

"Say, Kakashi-sensei…" the jounin turned to look at the blonde "Hai?"

"What would you do… if someone loved you… but you… weren't sure?" Naruto didn't turn to face him as he spoke those words. Kakashi lowered his book once more, his lazy eye growing serious for once.

'_Quite the deep question we have here. _Depends. What do you mean by, 'weren't sure'?" he turned to face the blonde. Naruto didn't give such courtesy.

"I'm not sure if… if I can keep up… if I'm enough." His voice sounded a little shaky, uncertain. Kakashi lowered his gaze for a moment. "You're not sure if you can love her enough?" the paladin flinched, but nodded. The jounin shook his head, as if remembering something… something sad.

"I have one thing to say then, Naruto." Was once, the blonde turned his head to look at him.

"In the world of shinobi, life is short. Too short for most. If you want to live with no regrets, if you find someone that truly loves you, then take the chance I say. Don't think too much about it, Naruto. Just love her your own way. The best you can."

"But… I'm afraid. I don't want her to get hurt… I want her to be happy…" his voice was barely a whisper. Kakashi sighed.

"Then do your best. Believe me, Naruto. As long as you love each other, you'll come to understand that hurt or happy, in weakness or in health, you are together. That's what love is about my boy…" as Kakashi leaned forward, a smile on his face, the sunset behind him, a gloved hand messing with his blonde hair, Naruto, for a brief, crazy moment, thought that he saw Tirion in there... that it was Tirion telling him those words.

Maybe it was.

"So, do you love her?" he questioned. Naruto remained silent for a long moment.

Always smiling, always kind, always that girl whose presence would sooth his very soul, his partner in the arts of the Light, his companion in the journey of a paladin, his friend in his times of need, the one that understood him better than anyone else, maybe better than even he understood himself.

A smiling face, calling his name, making his heart throb, pale, warm and soft hands around him, reassuring words, calming thoughts… all these and much more, she was.

It wasn't a question of 'if I'm enough'. It should never be like that. Whether if he was enough or not, whether if he was good or not, she would love him regardless. She would be there whether he despised or praised himself, whether he was happy or sad, she would be there. When he was happy, he wanted her to be there, to share that happiness. When he would be sad, he wanted her to be there to confront him, and vise versa.

It wasn't a question. There was nothing like 'enough' when it came to loving someone. There was nothing like that. You loved him and he loved you. That's all that mattered. If you searched for 'enough' in your partner, then you probably didn't deserve him to begin with…

There is no enough. There was only her.

After that long, very long moment of silence, Naruto looked up at his sensei, determination shining in his blue eyes. The blonde simply nodded, speaking no words. Not with his tongue.

Kakashi smiled at him. "Then you're good to go. Ikke." He said and Naruto smiled.

"Thanks, Kakashi-sensei." He nodded, tears in his eyes. Then he turned around, running off down the street.

The jounin sighed as he popped out an orange novel. "Troublesome kids." He said and smiled in his book.

XxxxX

It wasn't everyday that Sarutobi had rare moment of silence and peace like this, when none would disturb him and he would disturb none. Minutes, hours of silence and lost thoughts, mounds of paperwork awaiting and restless secretaries running about was something far-fetched from these rare moments. These tranquil moments.

He took a puff off his pipe, savoring the warm feeling and taste of the tobacco, then letting it go in small elegant circles of smoke, one after the other. He watched as the rings flew and then vanished into nothingness.

That was pretty much what life was like. A circle that was born, then went on and on in its journey before it vanished. That was what life was like… for him.

He gazed outside the windows of his office, down the streets of Konoha. It was so strange, how people would begin to settle as the light faded in the horizon, how the buzzing noises of villagers running around during the day faded when night began to set.

Taking another breath from his pipe, Hizuren wandered idly about Naruto and his group. Yes, what he had assigned could be considered a C-rank mission, not the hardest of the lot but not the easiest either. There had been some mysterious killing incidents within the land of Waves. It shouldn't be something serious. While most of the bodies where either brutally slaughtered or merely chopped off their limps, it didn't seem like the work of a shinobi. No ninja killed like that. None.

So it was either a typical homicidal freak running wild in the forests of the Waves, or a band of brutal bandits who gained sadistic pleasure through such tortures.

It would be a disgruntling trial for these young shinobi. But, Hiruzen knew that hard times would soon come. He could _feel _it, this forlorn warning of malice, this sensation that something big was going on.

He had to prepare them. Prepare them all. For the sake of Konoha.

Either way, they would have Kakashi with them. What could go wrong?

He just hoped the jounin wouldn't make it hard for them…

XxxxX

**In the lands of the Waves, a few ways away from the coastal civilian village…**

_(Warning: __M rated scene for lots of blood ;p)_

The mist was… unsettling. Strange. Not something you could find anywhere. Yet again, this was what this land was famous for, no? The so mighty and mysterious mist that seemed to always deem this village with its beauty and concealing nature…

He grinned widely, two rows of sharp fangs glimmering in whatever deem sunlight could pierce through this sea of blur. But he could care less. His eyes could see everything perfectly… darkness, light, it made no difference. Even distance didn't seem to matter, as long as the horizon was visible.

Lowering his hat to conceal his face, he marched forward, towards where the scent was coming from… yes… it was time to feed…

A crimson cloak seemingly drenched in blood, red pants the color of wine, a white shirt with a red ribbon hanging from his neck and down the pure colored fabric. Boots painted with the blood of the innocent and the guilty alike. But there was no thing like 'innocence' in this world. There was only blood.

A brimmed red hat that matched the red his attire, dark hair the color of a moonless, starless night, thin, pointy features, two lines of quirked lips that formed the resemblance of a grin, tinted orange sunglasses concealing his eyes. Pale as death.

No… he was death.

His pray was close. So close, he could clearly smell the warm fresh blood pulsing through their veins, waiting impatiently for his fangs to dig in. He licked his lips in anticipation. He was thirsty.

And there were a lot of them too. A band of bandits filled with rage, hatred, sadness, malice… exactly how he liked it. His thirst only peaked at the thought of how delicious they would be.

Of how utterly _defenseless _they would be.

He could even hear their conversations, their whispers, their laughs, their thoughts… everything that was theirs was his. His lips parted a millimeter more.

"So, so, next is that village up the coast right?" said one of the thugs. He stopped walking, his interest peaked for a moment.

"Seems so. But I wonder what Gato wants us to do with 'em lot. Those villagers are utterly pathetic. No money to steal , no good women to rape, its shit I tell ye'!" another one of them spoke angrily, spilling beer everywhere. His lips curled up another inch, his head curving to the side in amusement.

"You speak of being pathetic… yet have you taken a look at the mirror yourself? Probably not…" said a voice, low yet strong, imposing, a chilling whisper, a heating wind. It was cold and deep at the same time.

All of the bandits jumped. Yet the one that was obviously drunk simply turned around, gaping at the towering red-filled man. The guy was _tall._

"And… who the fuck ar'ye?" he asked, taking another sip from his beer.

"My, my, no proper manners I see. But, that is to be expected from lowly scum like you." The man spoke, his grin wide and sadistic, pleased and amused.

"You gave yer shitty ass the right to call me… uh… scum?" he said and hiccupped. The tall man chuckled in amusement as each and every one of the other more sane men took a step back in fear, some even gripped whatever weapon was within reach, kunai and the such.

He snickered this time. How pathetic.

"You… don't even deserve to hear my words." He lowered his head a little, crimson eyes the color of a bloodied sea gazing into the drunken man. Said human simply went limp at the sight, his whole body freezing, the beer bottle dropping from his grip.

The tall figure chuckled. It would be a little more amusing this way, before dinner's main dish was served.

"You… will kill them... until you die…" he said slowly, whispering the words to the man who simply nodded, his expression one of uttermost loss. As if he saw yet saw nothing, as if he heard yet was deaf. As if he was manipulated.

Then the otherwise drunk thug turned around, gripping a kunai from within one of his pockets.

"Hey, hey… Kol… what's going on? What are ye doing mate?" one of the other bandits asked as they all settled in defensive stances. The armed man began laughing, laughing uncontrollably.

Then a kunai shot from his hand, hitting one of his surprised comrades straight in the head. The man was dead before he hit the ground, blood gushing out of his wound.

The tall figure licked his lips.

"Kol! What the fuck are you doing?!" asked another thug as he gripped his katana harder, prepared to take the insane member before he did anything else.

Said insanity-filled human simply grinned maniacally at his friend. "Kiiiiiill…" he grunted in a high pitched voice and threw another kunai towards the sword wielder, who simply deflected the weapon and went straight in, piercing Kol's heart with one clean strike.

"Damn it! Kill that bastard!" the swordsman said with tears in his eyes as he pointed at the tall, red dressed figure, who simply stood grinning at the sight, the sight of blood gushing rapidly out of Kol's corpse, spilling and painting everything with oh so glorious crimson…

Kunai, shuriken, and every available throw able weapon went straight into the man's body, he making not the slightest move to dodge, some of his limps even being cut off from more précised strikes, blood spluttering everywhere.

The swordsman smirked as their opponent was torn to pieces…

Then his expression turned into one of horror, as his whole head suddenly disconnected from the rest of the body… every single bandit yelled or screamed in fear at their comrade's unexpected death, looking around for any sign of hostile presence.

Their blood froze as an otherworldly chuckle began to echo through the mist, throughout the camp and throughout their senses, chilling and curling its way around them, caressing them like the cold wind of death.

Then the red man's corpse began to move, assimilate itself once more, dissolve into blood then form itself again as the shape of the mysterious figure was formed once again, as if he didn't have a scratch to begin with. The man laughed openly, wholeheartedly, as if this was some game he enjoyed.

"Pathetic humans… no, you are too low, too weak to even be considered humans. Now… die, like the dogs you are!" he said, his lips pulled back in a sadistic, blood-curling grin. So instilled in their fear they where, that the bandits didn't bunch an inch at his insulting words.

Not that they really got the chance. Before they could even blink the man was already moving, rapidly and fast, his fists, hands and even his fangs biting, piercing, slaughtering them without the slightest hint of regret, of remorse.

There was no remorse in killing dogs.

He licked the blood off their rotting fleshes, drank the life-essence from their dying bodies, reveled in the feeling of their helplessness, savored the taste of their still warm blood.

'_Oh… it seems like I missed one… he's all yours… Victoria…'_ he thought openly, grinning, his lips and teeth drenched in blood. He hadn't missed. There was no chance any of them would leave this place alive to see another tomorrow. Not when he was here. Not when he was feeding. There would be no survivors.

But… his mate needed a snack herself. He wasn't as greedy as to deny her this simple pleasure.

And there she was. The pathetic excuse of a human that was trying to run away from his deathly grip would soon be annihilated as well. She had grown so accustomed to hunting after all this time… it came so natural to her. He would even go as far as to say that she was better than him. Well, she was more delicate, while he usually made a mess with his food.

The man run for his life, squirming and squealing like a lost little girl. Even more amusing. She didn't waste anytime… yet she was playing with him. How wonderful…

As the man glanced back to see if he was pursued, he sighed with relief, seeing that the monster wasn't chasing him. When he looked forward though…

It was too late as a knife cut straight through his neck. He wasn't beheaded, no, but the cut was deep enough for torrents of blood to gush out, wash the evergreen grass with stained red.

She leaned in ever so slowly, pressing her lips gently against the cut, biting in his vulnerable flesh. The man squirmed and flinched some more, before all life left his eyes and body, before he went limp.

They never sucked their victims completely. They didn't have the convenience of ghoul servants. She never allowed him to make some anyway. She was still soft on some aspects. He wondered idly how could she ever fathom respect for these scum…

'_Regardless of being scum, they're also human, you know.' _Her voice echoed within his mind, berating him. He chuckled. _'Itchy as ever, are you not, my dear Seras?'_

'_You know my opinion about killing humans. I merely do it for survival. Nothing more.' _Aside from the angry tone of her mental voice, he could easily make out the sadness that was laced, hidden behind those words. She never fully grasped her vampire side, she never allowed her lust for blood to get her into a killing frenzy.

But he could tell she enjoyed it, every last drop of it. He grinned. The last step was close… soon she would embrace the gifts of the night wholeheartedly, fully.

'_I don't want that!' _he could actually imagine her pouting in his mind. He let out another soft chuckle.

"It is a side of yourself that you have to grasp fully, Seras, otherwise you'll never be complete." He said, his gleeful grin fading back a little, a more serious expression setting on his thin face. She simply nodded as they where both in a comfortable speech range now.

"I know." She said, a bit of frustration in her blue eyes.

"I know…" she repeated, lowering her head. Silence befell upon them for a few long moments, the mist being no barricade between them as their vision was too strong for this thick mystery to even be an annoyance.

"Hey, Alucard..." He looked at her far shorter form, his crimson eyes taking a more caring, more curious look. "What is it?" he asked after a moment that seemed to last forever.

She leaned forward, resting her wary body on his chest. His lips simply curled up a little in that small grin-like smile of his as he rested one long hand across her.

"It's not easy being a vampire… you know…" she whispered and he chuckled, a deep, pleasant sound to her ears.

"We are walkers of the night, the rulers of no-life in this world…" he simply said and she circled her petite hands around him, basking in the warmth of his figure, of his body. To any human, a vampire's body would feel cold, as if touching a cool cloth. But to one another, their bodies felt so incredibly warm, comforting…

It had been over a year since they came to this bizarre world. It had been not easy to adapt in a place such as this, away from the foggy England. At least the land of Mist assimilated their home as much as possible.

It had been a year of running around this continent, feeding off rogues and bandits, stray humans and criminals of any gender and age. It was a fight for survival, their survival.

Within that year it was that he gave her one more chance to taste his blood, to become equal with him, to be a true vampire, a true walker of the night. And she had obliged. She had taken the offer this time, leaving behind her humanity to be closer to him… little choice did she have, but it wasn't something she didn't want… right?

"Now… let's go, Seras. I've heard that some interesting things are about to transpire within these lands…" he said, his grin widening in a familiar manner.

She looked up at his face, blinking at the sight of his sadistic side. He always grinned like this when blood was expected to be spilled.

"What kind of things?" She asked innocently. His grin widened more, if that was possible.

"Wonderful things." Was all he said.

_(Hellsing. AlucardxSeras, that's all you get ^^)_

XxxxX

Maybe some lemon juice with lots of sugar to sweeten it up… or orange juice, it was much sweeter on its own anyway.

As Naruto marveled around what he should have for breakfast, a soft knock reached his ears from the door of his apartment. Intrigued as to who would be disturbing him at such an early hour, he left the ramen to prepare in its 3 minute interval and headed for the door. He would decide what drink he would have later. Expired milk was out of the question.

Opening the wooden concrete, his eyes grew wide before frowning at the two figures before him. He glanced at the clock that hang on the far wall of his living room, checking the time. They still had half an hour before the meeting time, which meant one or two hours before Kakashi-sensei showed up.

"What are you guys doing here?" he asked the duo suspiciously. The onyx haired one simply shrugged while Sakura waved cheerfully.

"Ohayo, baka!" she said in an overly happy voice, which made the blonde wary. Sakura never was that sweet, especially around him.

"Let me guess; she had the fine idea of us having breakfast together before the grand beginning of our first C mission?" Naruto inquired and Sasuke supplied an affirmative sigh along with a nod, which Sakura concluded with the enthusiastic bobbing of her own head.

"And why my apartment? Surely your homes are far more specious than this." his tone was still curious and disbelieving as he purposefully pointed an extended hand towards his apartment. It was clean, yet anything but roomy.

Sakura shook her head "Naruto, it's not about space! We're a team, remember?" she said, shaking a finger at the blonde who simply shook his head with a grunt, returning to the preparing ramen and leaving the door open, an indication that they could come in.

When the door was audibly closed and the two walked inside the kitchen of Naruto's home, the blonde didn't fail to notice at last that Sakura also seemed to have brought some groceries along. He quirked an eyebrow at the bag at which the girl replied with a menacing glare.

"You didn't expect us to eat ramen, right?" she walked up to the counter where Naruto was keeping watch of his favorite meal. "And today…" she said, grabbing the pot.

"Neither are you!" and with a mighty thrust, before the young paladin could even protest, the scalding water along with the noodles flew out of the window and onto the unforgiving streets. Thankfully, no one seemed to be passing at that particular moment. "No!! My precious!!" Naruto mourned as he cried tears of sorrow down his windowsill, gazing at the ruined food down the street.

Sakura sighed as she gripped some materials from inside the bag and began working her way around his kitchen, while Sasuke simply sat on one of the few chairs, pushing it backwards and balancing himself in a comfortable position as their pink haired teammate was about to prepare breakfast, probably a healthy one.

"By the way, Sakura…" after he was done grieving and over with it, the blonde turned at the girl who swarmed around like she owned the place, raising an eyebrow at the pink apron she spawned out of nowhere. Naruto didn't have that many cooking supplies, for he rarely cooked anything but ramen, but thankfully, they would suffice for the day.

"Where did you learn to cook anyway?" he asked and she stopped her maneuvering for a moment, blinking at him, then letting out a soft chuckle.

"My parents are too preoccupied with their civilian jobs all day around so I have to take care of the house most of the day. I even cook our meals when mom isn't available." She said with a warm smile while putting some rice to prepare and taking another handful to make some onigiris, probably for consumption while they would be on the road.

Both Naruto and Sasuke stayed silent, the only sound being Sakura's movements and the blonde pulling another chair to sit himself. They were both lost in their own thoughts, different and alike at the same time.

Naruto never had parents or anyone to begin with, so he didn't know what it was like to have a family that rarely was there. He decided it was rather painful in its own way when you knew that your parents cared more for their jobs rather than their child. But, that was too deep of a matter to contemplate in the morning, so he let it go.

Sasuke had similar thoughts, even as a feeling of nostalgia crept over him in this little scene that Naruto's kitchen had become, reminding him of old days when he and his brother would wait patiently while kaa-san cooked their breakfast, their father later on joining in.

His teeth clenched at the memory of his brother. He would pay one day for taking them away… he would pay.

But Naruto had made him realize one thing. If he was to ever kill his brother, if he was to ever reach that peak of power required to overpower the evil he had done, he would need them. He would need Naruto, Sakura, and every other ally he could get his hands on. No, he would be no coward. He would not hide behind them, letting them do his dirty job. He would fight Itachi one on one when the time came.

Friends where stepping stones. Support, power. And so much more. He had learned this through the few battles he had fought alongside Naruto and the rest of the leaf genin, during the hunt for Mizuki, the battle against the magician… and Kami only knew what was to come.

He could have never taken Mizuki on his own, at least not easily. He wouldn't in his wildest dreams defeat that robed man one on one as he was now. If it wasn't for Naruto, they would have all perished in that battlefield… so soon, so young.

So he had to grow stronger. Strong enough to support himself, even stronger to be at the top, somewhere where he wouldn't have to worry about someone else being stronger, and if there was one person stronger than him, he would be shot down!

But Naruto was stronger than him… would it be worth taking him down? Could he do such a thing? To the idiot that had helped him realize the importance of friends in his own silent way?

He felt a headache beginning to form at the debate of what friends really where. He glanced at Naruto, who hummed slowly while stroking that magical sword of his (how exactly it suddenly appeared in his hands was beyond him), and at Sakura who was nearly done with the rice dishes and was cutting a few vegetables.

Only time would tell then…

XxxxX

"Told you he was going to be late." Naruto said with a sigh, and even though he hated it, he was right. Kakashi was nowhere to be seen, which meant that he was at least half an hour late already. It would be approximately half or even a whole hour before he showed up.

Naruto's hand itched towards the sword at his back, intent on slicing something, anything, to relieve some stress. It was their _first _mission and he dared be late!

Sasuke was as indifferent as ever while Sakura openly fumed, typical reactions for team 7. And the irony of the whole situation was that they didn't even have any idea of what the mission entailed. All Kakashi had told them was to pack enough supplies for a three days journey and bring weapons along. The only vague explanation they had was that they where going after bandits of some short. Nothing more.

By Naruto's opinion, that was anything but professional. You had to _know _what you where going to do beforehand and prepare accordingly. That was how it should be. Yet all he told them to prepare was the typical by the book procedures even an idiot could follow. And that's not sarcasm.

Summoning some clones and unsheathing an inactive Ashbringer, Naruto went on his way for some sword spars among himself. He _needed _to slice something. Sasuke asked to join in the spars, in which Naruto was more than happy to oblige, while Sakura was content with watching them from afar and practicing some simple chakra enhancing exercises. Her control was near flawless, what she really needed was larger reserves.

Half an hour passed by fairly quickly as all three members where preoccupied with their self-training. Naruto, while he and Sasuke sparred against his clones, clearly noticed that the Uchiha was far more agile with his dual-wielded kunai while he had a hard time twisting his own sword around. While the blonde lacked little in strength, his agility and swordsmanship still needed some ways to go.

Maybe he could learn something from Sasuke… no wait, he was already doing so. Each clone that was destroyed by the Uchiha gave back memories of how exactly he was killed. Sasuke seemed to favor quick and precise strikes in counter-balance to his heavy attacks. The way his body twisted, the bents of his legs and arms, everything was 'recorded'.

Naruto would have to do some work on his agility. That was for sure.

Amidst that half hour was when they all heard a familiar shout coming from down the street within Konoha. During their years in the academy, there where only two people who shouted like that anyway. Naruto, who had mysteriously become more reserved after some time… and Kiba.

And if Kiba was there… Naruto's heart jumped a bit at the prospect as he dispersed his copies, turning to face the member of team 8, along with the rest of them.

"Oi! Naruto!" the Inuzuka waved his hands in the air, full of enthusiasm, in which Naruto answered with a wave of his own hand. Kiba never faltered in being cheerful… or annoying, whatever you want it to be.

He also noticed Hinata… but something seemed different.

Upon closer inspection, Naruto failed to notice the world around him as his vision tunneled towards the blue haired kunoichi.

Instead of the usual, maybe a little too big jacket that graced her figure on any regular day, one could easily mistake her for a different person as she was right now.

Replaced was the skin-colored jacket with a long sleeved shirt that said sleeves seemed to open at the elbow, like two pieces of cloth stitched together on the rightful appendage… no, that description didn't seem right, for she looked… beautiful.

A gray colored belt to support her shinobi supplies, a necklace that resembled the symbol of the Argent Crusade (where she found that, was beyond him. Maybe custom made?), long white pants of similar design (they where open at the ankle) that matched with her shirt and long black boots, with a katana strapped at her back to complete the figure.

The blonde gulped. While her white combat clothes looked similar to his, she was still looking awesome. Gone was the shy little girl that could easily hide within her oversized jacket. Alright, she was still shy, judging from her blush. It was the first time she was wearing this attire, even though she had been preparing it for some time now. The katana itself was custom made and matched her own size, the handle being a pure white while the blade shone an eerie blue hue along with the glaze of steel that accompanied.

He never expected her to wear these clothes. He never expected her to have the confidence to do so.

Awesome.

"Hey… hey, Naruto!" Sakura waved a hand before the stunned blonde, who suddenly was _very _aware that everyone noticed him gaping at Hinata, said girl having adapted a blazing red color.

"Oh ho ho, alright dude we all know anyone would have the hots for her, but damn!" Kiba commented with a whistle

"I reinforce the statement." Shino simply said, while Sasuke remained indifferent to the whole scene and Sakura watched the pair of paladins with a wary eye.

"Is it some courtesy of being Paladins to wear such clothes?" she asked, pointing a finger at the Hyuuga who stammered a few words, fume coming from her ears. They all looked up though when Naruto began laughing, hard to add to it. Even Hinata gave way to her shyness out of curiosity.

"Well… well, no, really, but I always told her that I needed something to distinguish me from the rest of the shinobi. Wearing white does the trick, no?" he winked at the blue haired girl who smiled back, blushing once again.

"Why are you guys here?" Sasuke asked after a moment, noticing Kurenai nearing from the distance. Shino pushed up his glasses a little, while Kiba simply took on his cocky attitude.

"Why else would we come at the gate, baka? We have a _m-i-ss-ion!_" he said full of pride, at which Naruto resisted the urge that grew in his hand to connect with the Inuzuka's head.

"Quite the surprise. We're on a mission too." The man had to dodge as a flurry of weapons went on his way, thankfully none hitting him.

"**YOU'RE LATE!" **yelled a furious team 7, aside from Sasuke of course. Kakashi rubbed the back of his head nervously, facing his subordinates with an apologizing smile. "Well, I thought that since we're going the same way as Team 8 we would all travel together and have fun along the way and such and…"

"That's the lamest excuse… wait what? What does Team 8 have to do with us?" Naruto cut himself in the middle of his usual accusation to wonder about the jounin's words. The man sighed, gaining a more serious expression.

"Team 8 has taken the mission of protecting a bridge builder from the land of Waves. And since we're all heading the same way, I simply thought we could go together and part ways when the time comes. We are allowed to help each other, but within logical boundaries and as long as it doesn't interfere with our respective missions. Understood?" he explained smoothly while his team nodded.

"Oh" Kakashi's lone eye went to meet the crimson color of Kurenai's as she arrived at the scene herself, an old man that reeked of alcohol gazing at the children with a calculative gaze. Was this… disappointment?

"Well then Kakashi-san. Since we have all assembled, should we be on our way?" the woman supplied and he quickly replied with a happy nod, opening his favorite book along the way.

"Wait, wait, wait. I asked for ninjas, not midgets!" the elderly complained, pointing a finger at the genin, who glared back in response.

"Oh, but Tazuna-san, you'll be surprised." Kurenai said with an overly sweet smile in which the man now named Tazuna responded with a snort.

"We'll see." Was all he said as he chugged down some more beer. "Let's get moving, brats!" he commanded, waving forward and beginning his march, with the reluctant genin following behind him and their jounin.

"It's gonna be a long ride, Kurenai…" Kakashi said as they walked out of the gate, into the road that led ways from Konoha. The female jounin nodded her head. "True… but we'll be here for each other, no?" she said with a smile in which Kakashi's bored eye responded with one of his own.

XxxxX

The winds howled with ferocity, cold and unforgiving as they traveled between the mountains and the rolling plains. But they where relentless. The forces of nature could never take them down.

"Come on you pussies. It's not even cold." Richard complained to his two companions, as they seemed to have a far harder time than him to adapt to the climate. Well, Poll did more or less. Gorley's home was in a mountain such as these. He had grown up in the snowy mountains of Dun Morogh! This was nothing!

Poll had a different definition of 'nothing' though.

"Ah! I can see it!!" Richard exclaimed happily from a more high perched position, while the two curious men followed swiftly behind.

"Look, look!" the warlock urged and the two gazed beyond the small hill they had climbed, down the open valley that lied…

"Acherus…" Poll whispered, disbelieving.

"The Ebon Hold." Gorley nodded as he surged forward, to the last part of their destination.

What towered in the sky before them was the base of the knights of the Ebon Blade, a massive stronghold that remained in the heavens with unholy energy, a warning to all who would try to oppose it.

And here where these three, heading right in the lair of Darion Mograine, the lord of the ebon blade.

"Sweet." Richard mumbled.

XxxxX

**A/N: So here**** ends another chapter. Next! Naruto and company encounter the demon brothers… and something more. Will Richard, Poll and Gorley manage to gain the allegiance of the Ebon Blade, or will the death knights cut them to pieces? And DarionxShella? I surely let my imagination run wild ^^ wonder what these two will play in this story. Stay tuned to find out =D**

**Btw, no Omake on this chapter I'm afraid T.T I'm already late on updating this since its already Sunday, 2:43 PM here and I was supposed to have this released since yesterday night. Oh well. I might update with an Omake later.**


	18. Chapter 18: Ebon Waves

**A/N: Mayb****e I should apologize for a late update, maybe not -.- but I do have a humanly excuse since I've been ill for the last few days and hadn't been able to finish this chapter in time. So I decided to take it slowly and recover first before sitting on my pc again and finishing this. I'd apologize for any inconvenience this might cause, but I doubt there will be any to begin with ;p**

**It's a big chapter mates! Enjoy!**

_**The Ashbringer: Shinobi of the Light**_

_**Chapter 18: Ebon Waves**_

So what if the world was against him. He would endure and endure till salvation beheld. He would never back down. Never give up. That was his way. His ninja way.

So why did moving forward seem harder than ever? Why did taking that single step to freedom seemed like he fought to break endless shackles that only returned after he broke free?

Did he really break free though? Did he really move forward, or did he just escape back in this dark cavern, in the safety of the blackness, away from prying and accusing eyes.

The truth was a wonderful thing. It could bring out the beauty and the cruelty of the world in one go. Was he ready for something like that? Was he ready to accept his own feelings?

Maybe he was thinking too much. Maybe it was all just his own hallucinations. The Hyuuga heiress, a girl esteemed to be the leader of the greatest clan in Konoha one day, with him?

No, thinking like that was pointless, useless, weak. And he was not weak. He was not useless, he had a purpose in life! And he would reach it no matter what. And what came afterwards… he wanted to live it with her. The only person that could really understand him, the only person that would open her heart for him to enter, the only one that would welcome him.

Maybe that would change in the future. When he would have gained the respect and faith of the village, maybe more people would be able to welcome him. But none of them would be her. None of them would see him in the same light, his own light.

That's why he wanted to put all reluctance and fear aside. That's why he wanted to live everything to the fullest, along with her by his side. That's why he couldn't accept someone else to walk with him at this moment.

So he smiled. Smiled and moved forward, into the light, where she awaited his arrival, his return. Could he disappoint her? No, he didn't have the heart nor the courage to do so.

For he was Naruto Uzumaki. And he never backed down.

XxxxX

"It sure is lively with them around." Kakashi said with a smile as he pointed his book towards the duo of arguing pre-teens. Kiba and Naruto would probably never shut up, much to Sakura's annoyance and Sasuke's dismay. Shino seemed to pay them no mind, but well, it was hard to tell what that boy thought anyway. Hinata looked use to this enough. No surprises there, Kakashi had heard that these three where very close friends before the team selections separated them. Sad, but inevitable nonetheless.

He chuckled to himself, remembering how he and Obito where misplaced when their own selections came. Friends they were, but that separation could not be helped.

Later on the Hokage, Sandaime-sama would put Kakashi back into the folds of Team 7, along with Obito and Rin for reasons of his own, under the tutelage of the fourth…

He idly wondered how altered history would be if that small difference didn't happen. If Obito never was his teammate and he never acquired the Sharingan the way he did. How would the world be right now, if Sharingan no Kakashi never existed?

Glancing at the genin before him, he wondered how much the world would be affected by this simple bunch of six brats… well, he was a brat once too.

The jounin flinched for a moment as he sensed Kurenai spiking her chakra, if only for a brief instance, something that none other would have felt less he had been next to her, as Kaksashi was. Wondering about that sudden action, he glanced at the red-eyed woman, noticing the frown that had settled upon her brow, the wary feeling her eyes gave off, as if she expected something. She probably did.

He shrugged it off for a moment before finding a weird buddle of water on the dry ground… a _very _weird buddle of water. It hadn't rained at all since they began their journey, so how could something like this be here? He couldn't reveal his eye now, that would be too flashy, easily noticeable. But Kurenai was a genjutsu master. She had probably sensed this little trick before Kakashi even thought about it.

Kakashi's lone eye then wondered off towards the six genin. Could their enemies really hope to come up against them all? Just how powerful where they? Well, all he had to do was wait a little in order to find out, no?

XxxxX

"I'm telling you, there's nothing wrong with dog food!" Kiba yelled, while Naruto picked his ear, pretending not to notice.

"Oh, so you say you eat dog food? No wonder your breath smells just like that." He answered evenly, smirking at the raging Kiba. "I insist on the contrary!" he yelled and crossed his arms over his chest, huffing. Naruto raised an eyebrow at him.

"Don't copy Shino, dog breath." He muttered, amused, while Kiba faltered at how easily he was discovered.

All thoughts of laughter and joy though faded away as a loud screech pierced the air, a high pitched sound that only the female gender was known to be able to produce. And behold, such an occasion was on this day witnessed as Sakura yelled with widened eyes, seeing her sensei being ripped to shreds by a pair of chains, Kurenai soon following.

Stunned everyone was as both jounin where obliterated to pieces in mere seconds, leaving them defenseless and open for any attack. Naruto and Sasuke where the only ones quick enough to snap out of this haze, along with Hinata. They had enough experience in dire situations as to not let this faze them as much. They would fight now, and mourn later.

Avenge now. Behold later.

Naruto roared as he summoned the Ashbringer, the sword once again flaming in blazing Light, surging and blinding. Hinata unsheathed her own katana, funneling the divine power through it.

"Sasuke!!" Naruto yelled as he charged forward, the black haired teen quickly running through hand seals.

"**Katon: Gogakyou no Jutsu!" **he shouted, sprouting a ball of flames towards their ambushers and halting their assault.

Naruto and Hinata wasted no time as they locked their blades against the gauntlets that connected their two opponents and the lethal chain in between.

"Shino! Kiba!" the blonde commanded and the two where quick to oblige as a swarm of bugs went straight for the one Naruto had pinned while two whirlwinds of fangs and claws shot towards Hinata, going around her and head on the target.

The demon brothers had little choice but to abandon their weapons and flee the onslaught. A moment later the spots the two occupied was overpowered by each respective attack, missing them by inches.

"One's making a run for it!" Sakura yelled, pointing at the forest where one of them chose to retreat.

Shino nodded to her silently, giving chase quickly after.

The other 'demon' stood to face them, sweating and trembling before the young genin. His skills where of high Chuunin level, but he didn't have a chance against five genin! Not _these _genin.

The boys smirked triumphantly at the outnumbered shinobi that had enough bad luck (or lack of brains) to attack them. It was time to finish him off…

"Guys! Shouldn't we keep him for questioning?" Sakura supplied hurriedly, seeing her friends ready to tear the poor man apart, like he had with their senseis… now that she thought about it, better rip him to shreds.

Too bad though, that Naruto actually seemed to consider the foolish words she uttered before. Kill first, ask questions later baka!

"She's right." He said simply and an ethereal hammer, covered in a blue hue materialized in one hand.

"Hold him down guys." He said with a smirk and the others where more than happy to oblige. Kiba went straight for an attack along with a human-bunshined Akamaru, whirling their way through the air and straight for the man.

He quickly kawarimied away from danger in the last moment, just before the strike was about to land. The man was frantic as he watched for any other potential threat, especially that weird looking hammer in the blonde's hand.

He never saw the Uchiha that went from behind.

Sasuke had an easy time kicking the man away from the safety of the trees, out in the open and into his friend's hands. Naruto didn't waste any time as he set his hammer to strike, and stun his opponent.

Sadly, he missed as the rogue twisted his body in the air to avoid the ethereal weapon, escaping captivity by a hair's breath once again.

Yet, he didn't take notice of the other paladin of the group, who was also waiting for the man's land to commence, into his imminent doom…

XxxxX

"Hinata-chan, that was a bit cruel…" Naruto said, wincing, as did Kiba and Sasuke behind him. Hinata smiled sweetly, maybe with a little overdose of sugar.

"Hmm?" she said with a small blush. Naruto had to admit, she was so keen at blushing that she could do it on instinct now.

"I mean, ok, you know that 'Hammer of Justice' hurts…" he continued, wincing again. The other two trembled for a moment.

"What do you mean, Naruto-kun?" she urged, smiling widely at him. He shook his head, standing a bit straighter. "Well, at least you made sure he wouldn't run away." He complimented with a grin of his own. Kiba raised an eyebrow at him…

"Dude, if you had your jewels pummeled like that and _then _could stand up straight, I'd worship you."

XxxxX

It didn't take much to track down the runner. It was almost too easy, when in his panic the man didn't even take precautions that were otherwise vital for anyone who would dare call themselves shinobi. Shino didn't even need his bugs for this.

Soon he managed to find the 'demon' struggling to choose which route to take, while trying to set up a trap. Not that a trick like this would save him though…

The Aburame prepared to finish this in one go, once and for all. It wasn't even a test to his abilities. Maybe this was what people recited as… boredom?

He extended one hand, commanding the inhabitants of his body to charge forward.

A loud bang soon followed, as the ninja underneath Shino dropped dead on the floor, a big hole where his heart should be. Now it was only empty space.

The genin gazed at his hand with some sarcastic wonder, before turning to look at the source of the sound.

A man dressed in a fully red attire held out what could be recognized as a 'Gun', weapons that where slimly favored among shinobi. And this one seemed too well crafted and shiny to even belong to this _world_. It was long and white, and judging by the damage it caused, one should have great trouble handling it considering the push-back.

Weapons and clothes aside, Shino didn't fail to notice the wide grin that had spread all over his face… instinctively a bug was immediately sent to scout for this new individual, intent on judging his overall capabilities.

Imagine his surprise then, when this man had no chakra at all…

Or rather, it wasn't that his coils produced no power. He had no chakra coils to begin with…

The Aburame didn't waste time in retreating away in the safety of the trees, back to where his teammates where. Whatever this man was, he knew better than face him all on his own out here. Despite having all confidence in his skills, he knew his limits.

As he retreated, he never noticed the man gazing at his shadow behind tinted glasses…

XxxxX

"Your choice of action seems… disturbing, Hinata." After he regrouped with his teammates, Kiba and Naruto where quick to fill him in with how their own battle went. Even the stoic genin found it in him to wince as his imagination reproduced their words in detail.

"Good, good, you've done well everyone." Clapping sounds came from behind them and most of them gaped at the appearance of their otherwise shredded jounin.

Each of them smiled respectively at their pupils who seemed more stunned rather than angry. Well, Naruto, Sasuke, Hinata and Shino didn't seem surprised to begin with. Only Sakura and Kiba where yelling like there was no tomorrow, was it relief or rage.

"Calm down, both of you!" Kurenai yelled at the raging genin, who found enough sanity in themselves to shut up in time.

"Now, there will be times in the future that ambushes like that won't end well. If Kakashi and I really had died, what would you do?" she was obviously aiming the question at them all. There was no doubt that they had acted well against the given situation, but what would happen if the jounin hadn't returned to keep offering their guidance? What would happen if the leader fell in battle?

"The strongest amongst us should take the lead and continue with the mission." Naruto said smoothly and the others nodded, if only a bit reluctantly.

"That is indeed an option." The genjutsu mistress admitted "But what if there are no fit leaders within your group?"

"We fall back and think over the situation. We either retreat or call for reinforcements." Sasuke spoke up, phrasing what was in the book. He didn't like the word 'retreat' himself, no, that word didn't belong in his vocabulary. But the rules were rules. If Kurenai wanted to go by the book, he didn't have the power to go against it. Not now.

"That is the right option, Sasuke." It was Kakashi that spoke this time around. "But if you can't retreat? If you find yourself in a situation where every second counts, where you don't have time for reinforcements, where your choices will affect your team's life?"

"Then you fight with all you've got. Even if you fail, you'll know that you gave it your best." Naruto intervened and all genin nodded at his words. Courageous as they were, even Kakashi couldn't help a smile on his lips.

"That's a desperate plan." He commented with that same smile, at which Naruto nearly face faulted.

"But desperate times require such things. Regrouping with your team and facing them head on would also be an option. But now, enough with our little lesson. We have explanations to get." He pointed his smile at the unnerved bridge builder, who had obviously built up quite the sweat for some reason.

"Tell us why, dear Tazuna-san, would two Chuunin be after you?" the mentioned Chuunin had obviously failed, but Kakashi had clearly seen their intent. When they charged with their glove-chains, they had aimed directly for Tazuna. It was the genin that effectively intervened in time and saved the man from a nice beheading.

Said man sighed, disheartened.

"It is a long story…" he began…

XxxxX

"This is quite the warm welcome, don't you think?" the last thing they wanted now was Richard's sarcasm. The first thing they wanted was to clear the situation.

It was weird how the knights were so hostile against them. Weren't they on the same side? Weren't they fighting the undead together?!

Then why, oh why, had they all taken offensive positions against them?

Oh right. Richard had set their sentry's head ablaze. The dude had some issues…

Poll had gone on beheading the warlock, then having Gorley heal him in order for the mage to do so again. It was also very frustrating that the undead felt no pain to begin with… but it did help the two calm their nerves.

The Ebon Blade wasn't that merciful.

"Guys, guys, lets talk this over some nice cold beer, no?" the paladin supplied, but the knights gave no response.

"Look, if you want the warlock, he's all yours." Poll offered, not giving any attention to said warlock's glare.

"You tell us you come with peace? Your friend killed our sentry!"

"I'm sure he's at a better place." Richard supplied, at which his two companions grunted.

"I can resurrect him if ye like." Gorley spoke up, and that seemed to ease the death knight's a little. One of them, obviously the lieutenant, grunted as he stepped forward, towering before the three. Tauren tended to be tall.

"We will grant you one chance, intruders. Speak your purpose and we might spare you." His voice was deep and intimidating. It gave the couple of friend's a chill, while the warlock glared openly. "You'll be lucky if I spare you…" he mumbled and thankfully, the death knight didn't seem to notice.

Gorley sighed "Bring me the corpse and I'll see what I can do. There's probably still time to bring him back."

"You didn't answer me, dwarf." He threatened, at which Gorley took a step back. He was a pretty strong paladin, but he knew better than go against the whole of the Ebon Blade, and in their own stronghold nonetheless!

"We require an audience with your leader, Darion Mograine." Poll spoke up and the tauren looked at him with wonder through his dark helmet. His eyes where a teal color, neon blue even, as was every death knight's, piercing through the void of what was his head armor's interior.

"For what reason?" he asked after a moment of silence.

"That is for us to know and Darion to learn." Gorley spoke up. The tauren grunted again.

"Very well. But you should resurrect the gnome first. We're short on hands already." He made a dismissive gesture with his own large hand, commanding the warrior's to stand down.

"Was that gnome a tank?" Richard wondered out loud. The tauren turned to glance at him.

"Nah. Imagine him taking a mammoth on."

"Poor thing."

XxxxX

'… _should we move now…?'_ the voice echoed within his head, familiar and caring. He loved that voice.

'_It's still day-time… I'm not even at my full potential.' _He heard her giggle.

'_Since when did the mighty Alucard care about potentials?' _she supplied and he couldn't help the grin that rested on his face.

'_Don't mock me, Victoria. You're not coming along either way.'_ Despite the playfulness in his tone, his words were serious. She wasn't strong enough yet to be able to come out in daylight.

'_Let me guess… I'm a hundred years too early?'_

'_A hundred and twenty one, to be more precise.' _His grin widened at her moan of disappointment.

'_You won't be any stronger than a mere human out in the sun, Victoria. Not to mention that you'll feel your very flesh burning in the light. Yet you won't ever die, despite the unremitting pain.' _His voice held worry and care, maybe a bit of forcefulness too. That was the way he was, always.

'_I guess being immortal has its perks?' _she joked and he shook his head.

'_More than you can ever imagine.' _She could practically _see _the sadistic grin that should be spreading on his face with these words. She sighed mentally for him to hear

'_Alucard, there's more to life than slaughters and bloodbaths, you know.'_ She scolded.

'_Oh? That's just your opinion.' _There were times like this that she hated arguing with him. She lost most of the time.

'_Name one person that would have the same opinion as you.' _She challenged, yet the grin she felt him having wasn't a good omen.

'_Richard?'_ he supplied.

She sighed _'But he's undead_…' he could make out the whine in her voice _'And we are…?' _he questioned and she grunted. He did have a point, as always.

'_I still insist there's more to life than killing.'_

'_You?' _she blushed slightly. He could be romantic at times, in his own _very _weird way.

She heard him laugh in her mind, obviously knowing what she was thinking. She knew what _he _was thinking too. The mental connection went both ways, for better or for worse.

'_Just come back quickly, ok?' _she pleaded and he let his laughter reside, nodding to no one in particular.

'_Don't worry my dear. I'll come back for dinner.'_ She let out a small breath and he leaned against a tree, waiting. They should be passing by this road in a few minutes. He could smell them already. Young, pulsing, delicious blood…

XxxxX

"For what reason do I have you three before me on this day?" Darion's speech was formal, careful. Bloody bastard was the same as always…

"Don't play dumb on me death knight. Ye know very well why we're 'er." Gorley frowned at the man, who didn't react to his words one little bit. He just kept sitting on that damn throne of his, gazing at them through his helmet.

"I have a very slim idea as to what reasons would a warlock, a mage and a paladin would have in order to come and pay a visit to the Ebon Hold, in a world such as this, nonetheless." He waved his hands around him, as if to make a point. Poll took a step forward, kneeling before the man.

"Lord Mograine, I request permission to speak freely." They couldn't see the leader frowning behind his head gear.

"You may." He spoke, and Poll rose from his knees.

"As you may be aware, Azeroth right now lies in flames…" he started, and the death knight nodded.

"Thousands of living beings fell in battle… our world is now nothing more but a mere shadow of what it once was… the undead have conquered everything… I suspect you are also knowledgeable over the workings of the Kirin Tor?" Darion remained silent for a moment, before urging the man to continue with a gesture of his hand.

"The last pockets of resistance… Orgrimmar and Stormwind, have been holding back the leagues of undeath even as we speak at this moment. The Warchief, Thrall, and king Varian have been defending their homes for the last couple of years valiantly! But…"

"It is only a matter of time before they fall as well." the Mograine finished, at which Poll nodded. "So what do the Kirin Tor have to do with all this? Wasn't Dalaran leveled when we where defeated at the battle of Icecrown? When Tirion gave his life for nothing?" his tone held an edge, one of anger and despair. He did well in controlling it though.

"Tirion died for what he believed in…" Gorley spoke up, clenching his teeth.

"That fool should have waited. A few more months, and the weapon would be complete! We would have ended it forever!" Darion raged, standing up from his throne, pacing up and down the circular room.

"A few more months… we had all the materials, all the necessities. All we needed was a worthy wielder. But could Tirion wait? No, he just had to charge in Icecrown Citadel and get himself killed!" he yelled.

"You know very well why he did what he did!" it was Gorley's turn to shout. The guards around the room stood ready, prepared to defend their leader should the need arise. Not that Darion really needed protection. There was a reason he led the Ebon Blade to begin with.

"Wait? You wanted him to wait while countless heroes fell in battle with the Scourge? While his own crusaders gave their life out there? If _he _hadn't done what he did…"

"Then Azeroth would still be alive!" Darion cut him off, and Gorley grunted as he turned his face away.

"Yes, there would be more casualties, yes, more people would die! But, we would have ended this madness! The Lich King would be defeated, the Scourge would be undone! Millions of lives would have been saved at the expense of a few hundreds! They…!"

"Are you sure about this…?" the paladin cut him off this time, whispering the words like a silent prayer.

"What would the cost be then, Darion? Would the one that wielded the blade be strong enough to resist it? How can we know that he wouldn't turn against us? That he wouldn't fall in the same madness which Frostmourne gave Arthas?" he gazed at the Mograine straight in the eye.

"That he wouldn't become one of them?"

It was Darion's turn to grunt, as he kept pacing up and down, more slowly this time. "The Ashbringer wasn't strong enough to kill them both… the Lich King and his blade are one, Gorley. There isn't even one moment that the hilt of Frostmourne would stay away from his grip. The power of darkness was more than what the sword could handle… and now it is lost too. Even if we actually manage to finish Shadowmourne, without the Ashbringer, neither blade is strong enough to defeat him on its own." He gazed at the three men before him.

"All hope is already lost… what can we do now rather than fight to the death?" he looked away, gazing over yonder.

And for some reason, Gorley smiled. "You know Darion… you're probably the only pessimist in your family." He said with a grin. The man turned to look at him again.

"I'm the _only _one in my family. My father is dead, and my brother was just a worthless scum that deserved nothing less than to serve me in his death. You see that ghoul over there?" he pointed with his head towards the left, where said ghoul stood, flinching and gurgling as its empty eyes took in the environment around it. Bandages hang from its rotten body and pieces of flesh gave way for bone to show. A hideous sight.

"Guess who."

"You take care of yer friends, no?"

"I take better care of my enemies." The paladin could feel the humorous tone in the death knight's voice.

"What would you do, if I told you that nothing is lost yet, Darion?" he implied, at which the leader of the Ebon Blade stood still for a moment, halting his repeated movements.

"What if I told you, that the Ashbringer actually lies much closer than you think?" Darion took a step forward, his fists clenching.

"Explain yourself…" he urged hurriedly, with hope. And Gorley couldn't help the large grin that spread over all his features.

"Oh, I will tell ye everything mate. But only after we discuss another small matter that comes along…" he took out a scroll from one of his pockets, the Hokage's seal on it…

XxxxX

"Something… is amiss." Naruto squinted to look through the enveloping mist. As Tazuna had explained, such a phenomenon was usual in Mizu no kumi. The problem was…

They weren't in Mizu yet.

"Oh? So your brain can actually tell?" Kiba mocked, at which Naruto only allowed his eyebrows to twitch. Nothing more. He shouldn't be distracted by petty talk. Not now.

He stretched his senses out with the Light, feeling the area around them in detail. The plants, the trees, the grass, the dirt, he could feel it all, see it all as if it was part of him. The Light existed in every living thing, be it a plant or an animal or a human. Through that particular connection he could track down anything that was close enough. Having Hinata alongside him, her presence shone like a beacon of purity, enhancing his power ten-fold. She was lending him her powers willingly, giving him strength through their own bond.

So he could feel it… two… wait, three presences that waited in ambush up ahead, maybe less than half a mile. By their pattern, they seemed to be setting this up together.

But he could also feel one more presence… a little further than those three… and it scared him. It made him sweat in fear more than anything else.

Hinata must have noticed, for when he returned out of his searching mindscape, she was there, keeping him standing. The whole group's attention had fallen upon him, some of worry and some of curiosity.

"I'm alright, everyone. Let's keep going." He said after regaining his composure, thanking Hinata with a smile. She simply smiled back.

She had also felt that, all of it. When they used their bond like this, it made their mental connection more stable, stronger. She could swear she could even hear wisps of his thoughts if she focused enough.

And she had seen that presence. Dark, malicious, merciless, hungering for blood, a being darker than Erebus itself. That's what she had felt… that's what Naruto had felt.

But the worst was, that said being had also noticed them as well… it wanted them.

The girl couldn't help the shiver that run up her spine. She had never witnessed such… _hunger._ Sure, she had felt the greed and lust of people before, but they were nothing compared to this. It was as if _it _wasn't human to begin with…

"Aww! A cute rabbit!" they heard Sakura squeal as she rushed into some bushes, grabbing what looked like furry little animal, known as a 'rabbit'. Poor thing.

Kakashi frowned as he looked at the small creature carefully. Its fur was white… but it should be brown at a season such as this. Was it an indoor raised rabbit?

He didn't have much more time to think as a massive blade came aiming for their heads…

XxxxX

"Oh?" to say that he was amused would be an understatement. The situation seemed more than interesting…

That little blonde brat had parried _his _blade with that flimsy sword of his. Since when did kids carry toys of war around?

Regardless, he should retrieve his sword before issuing the next part of this little charade.

"Haku." He simply spoke and someone nodded from the shadows, vanishing in a whirl of air.

Naruto, having parried the massive blade, successfully avoided the loss of at least three of his teammates who where in range for its decapitating attack. Would he be one second late, Shino, Kiba and Sakura would all have been killed.

The bug user didn't waste any time as swarms of tiny destruction creatures roared around him, searching for the conspirator. Kiba himself crawled down, changing his form in his beast-man jutsu, Akamaru beside him.

The Cyclops jounin kneeled down before the fallen hostile blade, examining it from hilt to tip. It seemed vaguely familiar… he reached out to take it, but retracted his hands on instinct as senbon needles flew for his appendage. Someone didn't like the idea of him grabbing this weapon huh?

"Well, well, well…" consecutive claps followed those three simple words as a shadow began to emerge from the tree line, taking the form of a tall man covered in bandages, his face concealed and his eyebrows… missing?

Kakashi frowned, as did Kurenai, recognizing this new opponent. This wasn't good…

"What an aspiring bunch of idiots we have here… this will be fun." They could see his smirk growing under the bandages. Warily the Konoha teams took on battle stances, preparing for combat. The man's smirk didn't waver one bit though…

Shino perked up "Behind us!" he half yelled, but it was already two late. A hunter nin popped out of nowhere, incapacitating Kiba and his companion with senbon needles. Naruto and Hinata parried the needles with their respective blades while Shino used his bugs for cover. Kurenai and Kakashi simply parried them all with a kunai.

The hunter picked up the sword, then vanished in thin air.

Sakura stood up from her fallen position, amazed to see Sasuke before her, gripping a couple of kunai in each hand, with which he probably parried the ambush for her as well. She didn't know if she should be touched or amazed.

Regardless, they all turned once again to the mysterious duo, as the hunter gave the weapon back to the man as if it was an offering to a god. Strange.

The mummy like ninja rested the large sword on his shoulder, scanning the still standing members of the group. Two where already down, if you can count the dog. 7 to go. Troublesome.

But not impossible nonetheless.

'_I wouldn't have Haku appear so soon… but they are too many for me to easily take down. That fat-cow was right for once to give me back up…' _he didn't like Gato. He would have killed the short shame of a human was it not for the payment. He would first get paid. _Then _he would kill him.

He glanced at the trees for a brief moment, wondering if that guy would be any worth at all… oh well. If he died here, better for him.

"Momochi… Zabuza…" Kakashi mumbled, remembering the mentions in the bingo book. An A class missing nin, master of 'Silent-death', one of the swordsmen of the Mist, also known as the Demon of the Mist. This man had quite the reputation as well as a fat bounty on his head. The jounin wondered how the hell did a hunter nin ally with him anyway?

Or… he probably was not a hunter. It wouldn't be the first time that someone imitated the gear of a hunter-nin in order to deceive. Deception was a shinobi's most important skill, after all.

"Hatake Kakashi… what a surprise… to think the legendary, Sharingan no Kakashi would actually pay a visit to these broken lands! Intriguing, don't you think?" Zabuza laughed as he set his sword before him. The jounin frowned.

"It seems we both check the bingo books often, no?" he implied at which the demon of the mist simply nodded.

Sasuke looked at his teacher with wonder and shock for one moment. Sharingan no Kakashi…? How could that be?

"But let's spare the pleasantries. I have an old man to kill and you're in the way. Be gone and I might spare you… not." The rogue's hand went for a hand seal, and the whole group frowned…

The area began to get engulfed within an icy mist, chilling and thick like a cloud had come down on earth. Naruto could feel the coldness creep up his spine, the echoing chuckle of madness from the Mist nin pushing him to his knees. The killing intent was suffocating, blood curling, too heavy even for him to bear.

'_Hinata…'_ he whispered in his mind, and as if to oblige, he felt their connection strengthen once more. He could tell her exact location within this mist, even though his eyes could not see. He could feel every move of her body, every single heartbeat.

She was terrified as well. They were all terrified. Being fresh out of the village, none of the genin had ever encountered a K.I. so strong. Not even Kakashi used that much to scare them.

But they were together. Through their bond they stood their ground, supporting each other out of this madness. Naruto stood up straighter, poising his blade forward, the Ashbringer being engulfed in golden flames, the mark of the crusade forming at its rightful place as power surged through the sword.

"**Death Grip" **an unfamiliar voice whispered within the blinding mist. Even though Naruto could not see it, he could _sense _the power of the man surging forward, towards them. He knew that power… that ominous, dark power.

A death knight…

Sasuke had no time to react as he was grabbed by the dark appendage and pulled viciously towards the dark warrior. Naruto prepared to intervene before the knight's sword found its way through the Uchiha…

But Sasuke beat him to it. As he flew towards certain doom, his hands formed familiar hand seals…

"**Katon: Gogakyou no jutsu!" **his favored technique launched forward, straight in the death knight's face. The man had to retreat immediately, less he was consumed by the heat.

The mist seemed to dissipate a little as Sasuke's miniature sun blazed through the ethereal concoction.

"Kakashi-sensei, Kurenai-sensei!" Naruto yelled through the mist.

"You take on the Zabuza guy! I and Hinata will handle the other! Shino, Sakura, Sasuke, take the hunter on!" he commanded and even though reluctantly, his teammates obliged. Since when had the blonde become the leader of the group?

But Kakashi decided to put some trust in him. Apparently, that guy who used strange jutsus was a more familiar opponent to the blonde paladin. Either way, the jounin would have taken on Zabuza regardless of the situation. That guy was too much for a mere genin to handle, regardless of his strength.

"Who made you the leader, dobe?" Sasuke spoke his mind after a moment. Shino shook his head as his bugs scurried the area for the hidden hunter. This mist wasn't trouble for him. His destruction bugs could tell him everything.

"Considering the situation, it would be wiser for us to take on a more familiar opponent. Naruto seems to know something about the man that attacked you, Sasuke. Something more than we do." Shino's logic surfaced once more. The Uchiha wasn't happy with the explanation, but he had to admit the Aburame had a point.

Naruto smiled towards the cloaked genin in thanks.

"Cut the chatter, will you not?" Zabuza's whisper echoed throughout the small area…

Naruto's eyes widened as he noticed a shadow materializing behind Hinata…

That same shadow pushed its blade forward, ready to pierce her heart…

But no sound of flesh being torn came. No yell of pain, no body hitting the floor. Naruto was too stunned with relief or fear, as he watched the girl activate her own divine shield to avoid the fatal blow.

"Now, now, what do we have here?" Zabuza's swing hit nothing but a solid barrier. Regardless of the strength he put in, it would not budge an inch.

"Quite the advanced jutsus you have there, little girl." He commented, but no more words managed to come out of his mouth as a gleaming katana went straight through his heart. Hinata's move was so fast, that the man's eyes bugged out in surprise. That was one of the least things he expected…

But he was no fool. Soon after the wound was inflicted, his body turned into a buddle of water.

"I believe it best to leave these two to me, Zabuza. You have no idea how troublesome Paladins can be." That voice from before spoke up, its form only a shadow within the engulfing mist. They could warily make out the demon chuckling…

"Paladins? More weird names like yours, death knight?" his tone held amusement. The whole group from Konoha though frowned at his words.

'_Death Knight…?'_ they all thought in sync.

"Naruto… what is he talking about?" Kakashi asked, not lessening his posture nor dropping his guard.

"Death knights are something like the counterpart of paladins. They use unholy powers to bring destruction and death at their wake. And this one is _strong._" Even his voice held an edge as he explained vaguely. But it was all Kakashi needed. Maybe that was the reason that their own two paladins chose to take this man on.

It would not be an easy ride.

XxxxX

"Kurenai!" the jounin yelled as he parried another slash from Zabuza's blade. The genjutsu mistress quickly obliged as she run through hand seals…

The man's body froze, as the red eyes woman seemed to sprout from his back, a kunai in her hands. She drove the weapon in his neck, finishing him.

The clone dissolved into water once more.

"You seem to favor Mizu Bunshins a little too much, Zabuza." Kakashi commented dryly. He was tired of these games.

"But you are not taking me seriously either, do you, Hatake?" they heard his voice through the mist. Kakashi frowned. Did he mean…?

"Yes… I want to see it. Show me your power, Kakashi! Face me with all you've got!" he challenged. The jounin seemed thoughtful for a moment, before reaching up for his headband…

"No! Don't give him what he wants, Kakashi!" Kurenai commanded and his hand stopped mid-way. "And what do you propose?" he asked, halting her little rampage. She remained speechless.

"Fools…" no more words where uttered as Kurenai's head went flying off…

Her body dissolved into nothingness though, like a piece of paper flying away in the wind.

"Mmm, quite capable, are we not?" the demon commented, gripping his blade to parry an attack from behind. Damn woman was fast.

He easily pushed her kunai away and charged forward, kicking the small weapon away and battering her head with the blunt side of his sword.

"What's going on, genjutsu _mistress_? Can't make me feel like my brain's going to explode? Like I'm drowning in the deepest pits of hell? Like my limps are cut off one by one?" he gripped her by the hair, she grunting in pain.

"You dare call yourself an illusion user. You don't reach Uchiha Itachi's little finger, I tell you." He dropped her to the ground, giving another kick to the stomach. The woman yelled in pain as she was thrown away in the trees.

But something halted her crush with the natural appendages. Kakashi grabbed her in the last moment, before her head would be smashed on the wood.

"Why care for such a weakling, Kakashi? For someone that's not even capable of upholding the title of jounin? She will only hold you back…" he gripped his sword, moving forward.

Kakashi didn't answer as he looked up at the demon. He gently set the woman to the ground, before standing up, a kunai in one hand.

"Remember, Zabuza… you asked for it." He simply said, reaching for his headband once more. The Momochi's eyes widened, in expectation and glee…

The headband was pulled up…

"Sharingan."

XxxxX

"**Desecration" **the death knight spoke and the ground around him seemed to scorch itself, runes manufactured on their own in a wide circle around him, deathly hands rose from the dirt trying to grip their feet. Smoke rose from the land and the stench of decay took over everything else.

Naruto had a hard time avoiding the countless hands that went to grip him. It was even harder keeping his attention focused on two places. Thankfully, Hinata helped with that.

They were so close that their sync had reached another level. Her Byakugan was ablaze, giving Naruto himself a far wider sight. He could see everything…

He could see that glorified smirk on the man's face, the cold color of his eyes, his intimidating posture as he gripped his runeblade.

"I will kill you, turn you into ghouls, and have you serve me for eternity, paladins!" he roared in laughter and Naruto could feel his anger rising. _He _would be eating fuckin dirt before this day was over.

He set Ashbringer in a forward stance, aiming directly for the man. The sword blazed stronger than before as he concentrated his power.

"**Charge of Vengeance!" **he yelled as he shot forward in blinding speeds.

"**Howling Winds." **The death knight easily countered as the mighty gusts of cold winds changed the direction of Naruto's flying attack, sending the blonde to smash against a tree, obliterating it.

"**Hammer of Justice!" **it was Hinata's turn to attack as her hammer found its way on the unsuspecting warrior. Focused as he was on the blonde, he failed to notice the silent approach of the female paladin.

His world went blank for a moment.

Hinata charged forward before the man could recover, intent on causing as much damage as possible.

Her blade though, simply clashed with his plate armor, not causing a single scratch.

"**Unbreakable Armor…" **his smirk was evident in his very voice as he punched the girl away. Hinata yelled in pain as the obviously _hard _gauntlet met her face, sending her flying backwards.

Naruto was fast enough to grab her before she hit the ground. Helping her stand on her own feet, Hinata quickly healed the wound with the Light, prepared for more.

"Shit… his really strong, even for a death knight." He murmured as the man walked towards them casually.

"Shut your trap, bubble-boy. You mockeries of a paladin deserve not the gifts bestowed on you. But…" they could see his eyes shining through the lessening mist, the runes on his sword blazing with power.

"Maybe after you die… maybe then, will you take some time to consider what actually counts and what not." He shot his free hand forward.

"**Death Grip!" **the hand went straight for Naruto, and due to their proximity, the blonde had no time to dodge it whatsoever.

"**Heart Strike" **Naruto set his own sword before him, doing the only thing he could to avoid a fatal blow. He couldn't do much though as the death knight's sword pierced right through his abdomen.

He coughed up blood as his eyes widened at the sudden pain. He could feel the dark energies shimmering in his body, gripping his chest painfully, making his heart beat faster and slower at the same time.

If he didn't heal himself quickly, he would die.

The man gripped him by the hair and pushed his sword forward, grinding through the blonde's body. Naruto wanted to scream in agony, but his voice could not come out. Only a gurgle of pain found its way up his throat.

"Yes… suffer… that's the only way to achieve…" he couldn't finish his sentence as another sword came clashing on his armor, severing parts of it and damaging his flesh. He quickly retreated, leaving his sword behind to defend against his attacker.

"**Judgement of Justice!" **her voice was fierce and unforgiving as a hammer that sported a red hue went straight on the death knight's head, knocking him back for a handful of yards.

She quickly turned her attention back to the blonde, who was bleeding to the death on the ground.

Naruto grunted as he called upon the Light, fixing what injuries he could in the haze that was his mind. The world was blurry and the pain made his hands go numb. He could hardly feel his own body anymore.

"Naruto-kun… hang in there…" he heard her soft whisper. He coughed again and nodded to no one in particular. She was there… she was alive… that was what mattered.

More pain shot through his body as Hinata pulled the death knight's sword out with all her might. The loss of the blade let a nasty wound in its place…

The damage was too severe for her 'Tenrai Hikari (Holy Light)' to heal alone. She needed something more…

Gripping his hands, holding them tight her own smaller ones, Hinata prayed that this spell would work. It was her first time using it, whatsoever.

"**Lay on Hands…"** she whispered after chanting the necessary strings for the spell. Light shone through her palms and spread through Naruto's body. His wounds began to rapidly heal and his breathing became even again. It was as if he never had a scratch on him to begin with.

She leaned backwards, feeling tired all of a sudden. It was the most powerful healing spell one could ever learn, but it sure took a lot out of the user.

Naruto rose to his knees, breathing in and out, clutching Ashbringer and leaning his weight on the blade. He glanced at her, she panting next to him.

A smile graced his lips as he leaned forward, placing a kiss on her forehead. She still found it in herself to blush after all…

'_Thank you, Hinata.'_ He was sure she heard that thought, for her blush intensified a little.

Naruto's divine shield then activated on instinct as a mighty wave of cold winds went straight for him. He set himself in front of Hinata, to protect her from the attack as well.

They could hear the man grunting a few ways away as he struggled to walk towards them.

"Damn troublesome Paladins… where's a priest when you need one?" he used his 'Death Grip' to bring his blade in his awaiting hands, the runes on the sword shining yet again.

"Guess this is gonna take some time… no?"

XxxxX

"I could say that Naruto and Hinata have a hard time, as happens to be the case for Kurenai-sensei as well…" Shino pushed his glasses upwards, not even trying to block the next wave of senbon needles. Ranged weapons had no power against him, unless they where massive enough. His bugs could block them all.

Sakura was trying to keep the hunter occupied with her bunshins, an attempt to disorient him, while Sasuke pushed forward with his fire jutsus. Shino had already planted a bug on the boy, which gave him the exact location of the nin despite his speed.

Thankfully enough, while Shino was able to track him, Sasuke was the only one that matched him in speed. But the Aburame could tell that something was strange with this shinobi… something strange in his blood. A Kekkei Genkai? Yes, that should be it. But it was… forlorn. It tasted like ice.

Do bloodlines have a taste? Yes and no. Depends.

"Six o'clock, Sasuke." The Uchiha was quick to react as he blocked another attack from behind. Their opponent was indeed a crafty one.

"Sakura, bunshin at three, needles at eleven." Sakura wasn't stupid, despite popular belief. She ignored the harmless clone at her right and focused on avoiding the attack from the left.

Needless to say, Haku was unsettled. Infuriated, if you will. Their teamwork was more than he could handle. That Sasuke was occupying him with his matching speed, while he also had to keep an eye out for the pink haired girl. If she set up a trap or used her bunshins as cover for her real attack, it would be troublesome.

And that bug user… somehow, he could always tell _exactly _where he was and what he was doing. He could easily tell the fake from the real and he would supply all these info to his teammates with pinpoint accuracy.

It was troublesome.

There was no way of maneuvering around this with physical combat, or trying to incapacitate them. The bugs would always prevent that or his opponents themselves would avoid his strikes.

Time for some jutsus…

XxxxX

His movements where fast and precise, not a single cell of energy wasted. He could predict every one of his movements, dodge each of his strikes, see through any clone and move fast like the wind.

Was this the power of the Sharingan? Could it…?

"Yes… it can predict the future." Kakashi finished his very thoughts as he dodged yet another swing of Zabuza's blade. The man's eyes widened as he retreated a step, taken aback.

"And it sees… your end." The demon of the mist grunted, glaring at the jounin.

"Heh… I want to see you try, Hatake!" he charged forward yet again, but Kakashi was once again a step forward as he swiftly dodged the attack, appearing behind the nuke-nin in the next moment.

Zabuza barely had time to dodge as a kunai went for his throat.

'_What the hell… it's as if he…' _"Can predict my every move." The Sharingan user completed his thoughts once again. Zabuza frowned even more. How could this be?

He set himself in a stance and so did Kakashi. He started weaving a string of hand seals and so did the jounin. His movements were so accurate and precise, so identical to his that it was frightening.

The shout of their techniques was lost in the blast wave of the explosion that took place some ways afar from them. But neither did waver, neither did lose their target.

Two dragons made of water came to clash against each other…

XxxxX

"What is there in the Light, foolish little brats! Can you not see?! The Light blinds you from the truth!" the death knight yelled as he clashed swords with the blonde paladin yet again. Naruto didn't waver though. His resolve made up for the difference between their physical strength.

But he couldn't keep it up for long. There were limits.

"And does the darkness hold the truth? As far as I can tell, you don't see any better in the darkness more than you do in the light." He fell back, disengaging their swords. The man smirked, raising his blade.

"Have you ever seen a cat, little boy? Truly seen it? Marvelous creatures they are, being able to see the truth even in the darkest night! Their eyes and souls pierce through the protective shroud of darkness and seek the truth! But, can anyone do so in the light? No, the light blinds, binds, weakens! There is no strength in the Light!" he charged forward, Naruto barely managing to block with Ashbringer yet again. The man was putting even more force in his strikes now…

Naruto roared as he pushed the man back with all his might, sending flickers of light everywhere.

"But… the right amount of light can illuminate these shadows too, right? It can show you the truth, if you learn how to use it! If you trust it!" the Ashbringer flared with righteous fury.

"Where there is light, there will be shadows… remember that well, kid. It's a universal law that not even God has the power to change." The runes in the death knight's runeblade blazed with unholy might.

It was time to end this.

Naruto roared once again as he poised Ashbringer for a final strike. The wind around the death knight grew cold and unforgiving as he set himself in a similar position. But for a moment… a brief moment, the unholy warrior could swear that he saw golden wings sprouting from the child's back…

Next moment, their swords had clashed in a final encounter.

A massive explosion ensued as the force of their powers hit each other full force.

Where there is light, there will be shadows…

XxxxX

"Zabuza-sama…" it didn't take more than a brief moment of hesitation before Haku retreated from his battle to help his master. His water prison should hold for a little longer before the devouring insects of the Aburame ate the chakra that kept them up away.

He should have enough time.

Zabuza was pinned on a tree, unconscious, Hatake Kakashi towering above him with a kunai ready, set for execution.

Haku could not allow that.

The jounin was taken by surprise as the fake hunter came out of nowhere, pushing him aside. Being an elite though, that was the least it would take to bring him down.

As he fell, Kakashi threw away his kunai towards his target in a moment of desperation. It was all he could do before Haku picked Zabuza's body up and shunshined them both out of combat. He made a back flip in time as to not crush and scoured the area hurriedly as he regained composure.

They where gone.

Sighing, the jounin let his headband fall once more at its rightful place, covering his Sharingan. The battle was over…

Looking over yonder, Shino was making a fast work of freeing Sakura and Sasuke of their water prisons. Thankfully they had held their breath long enough, but Sakura's panting showed that she was at her limits. A minute later and she would be dead…

Kurenai had managed to stand up again, but even with his lone normal eye he could see her whole body aching in pain. No wonders, while the woman was indeed good with genjutsu, her CQC lacked in some ways.

Then he scurried towards where Naruto and Hinata should be fighting, a few ways away from them. Surprised he was in discovering that the explosion from before was caused by none other than his blonde student. He didn't know if he should be amazed or proud. Maybe scared a little too.

Naruto was panting amidst a medium crater, holding Ashbringer with all the strength he could master at the moment. He has used up so much power in that attack… he felt… empty… weak…

The world blurred around him as he fell to his knees, supporting all the weight he could on his blade. A few steps away lied the body of his enemy, the death knight…

The man coughed up blood as he fought to take breath, clinging to life. He rose his hands to the sky, as if to grasp the wide blue yonder…

"Thank you… kid…" he spoke after a moment, his voice weak and fragile, fleeting.

"I once died as a… slave… I lived in undeath… as a slave… but now I'll leave this world…" his hand clutched the on going dream, the invisible appendage of salvation.

"_**Free…**_" he whispered and his lips parted no more as his final breath left his body, his spirit descending away…

Despite his hatred for all unlife, his despise for undead and the will of justice that he held within him tightly, Naruto couldn't help the welling up feeling that took hold of his chest…

How short sighted he was… did this man really have a choice? Was he really given an option when he was resurrected as a harbinger of death against his will? Could he hold control when his hand and will where guided by a force of darkness?

No… he had none of those.

Naruto suddenly felt so small and insignificant in this large world of pain and misery… his pain was one of loneliness, one of hatred, one of ignorance. Yet this man's pain was something greater…

For you can't feel you lost something when you didn't have it to begin with. You didn't love something that never was there for you to love. You didn't feel something that can't be felt.

Watching your own hands bath in the blood of your loved ones… feeling your own love being turned against you, turned in hatred and malice.

Was it better for the Death Knights to be freed from the grip of the Lich King? Was it better for them to actually _know _what they had done? To feel remorse and guilt for it? Or was it their punishment for allowing themselves to do so?

He didn't know… he really didn't know… and that thought alone made him weak, for the only thing he knew was that he knew nothing.

So he let himself fall, let his strength go and surrendered to the relief of unconsciousness.

Maybe he fell asleep before he hit the ground. He never felt it crushing against him anyway. All he felt was a warm embrace… holding him tight… holding him close…

XxxxX

Alucard couldn't help the amused grin that had spread all over his face. What a fight this one was! So exciting and bloody! He really wished he could participate. But which side to take? His own, of course. Just kill them all and be back for dinner. That's what he told Seras at least.

He didn't feel that good about it but neither did any remorse grip him. She would understand. Or rather, she already knew what he was up to anyway. Damn woman knew him too well.

Maybe he liked that?

Still grinning, the vampire turned around and marched into the trees, towards where she should be. A delicious, marvelous young man and a little girl for side dish should be enough for the week… one thing he tended to scold her about was her way of dieting. If she wanted to be strong, she should eat some more!

You can't get fat with blood anyway.

XxxxX

**A/N: So that's it for this week too my friends ;p The Omake, I have to admit, isn't the best I could do. This one is more like random rumblings from me to myself, little debates and stupid situations where one fights among his mentalities. Nope, it might not make sense either.**

**If you've read Towards the Heaven, you know who these characters are ;p Have fun.**

_**Omake: Aaaaand, CUT!**_

"Why are we doing this again?" he grunted, trying to stand a little straighter in the crowded place. It was freaking dark too!

"Shh! Honder-sama might hear you complain!" her voice was scolding yet caring.

"Shut the fuck up, both of you." Another man grunted, grinding his blades as if to make a point. They both did effectively close their mouths so.

"And who gives a shit about Honder? Last time I checked, that bastard hasn't even showed us in this story yet!" he was obviously displeased. Not that I cared.

"Oh you should care!" no my friend, I actually don't.

"You're an asshole." That's your personal opinion.

"No, it's called 'common sense'." I don't remember you being the one writing this script, Hakai.

"Duh. You have the fingers smart-ass. Better use them properly." And what are you? Munched meat?

"It's still at a higher level than being one of your OC. Gorley and Poll get all the freaking glory out there while we rust in Towards the Heaven, which you _don't _update!" well, excuse my humanity and the fact that I can't actually keep up two stories like that.

"Don't begin them in the first place then!" he raged.

"Oh great. Now you're ignoring me?" his voice sounded hurt, like a child that had lost its guidance.

"Like fuck would you be my guidance asshole!" and a battalion of fangirls chasing a certain Uchiha pummeled their way through Hakai and he screeched and yelled in pain and terror as he was mercilessly thrown around by the rabid herd of a calamity known as 'fans'. Note to everyone: Don't consider them human. It's the biggest mistake you can make.

"I'll get you back… one day…" he gave the glorious middle finger before passing on in eternity…

"You should stop killing him off every single time…" the other male said, checking for vitals. Nope. Dead.

"Not my fault. He asks for it like a masochist." I shrugged, stepping into view.

"He's your _sadistic_ side, how can he be a masochist?" he's tone was incredulous.

"The same way you are an annoying idiot." I reasoned smoothly.

"I'm not an annoying idiot! I'm supposed to be the wise one!" he retorted.

"Exactly my point." I nodded, stepping in front of him and placing a hand on Hakai's corpse. The body immediately puffed into smoke, turning into numerous fluffy bunnies.

"He's gonna be pissed about this one…" Dankan was obviously sweating. I grinned widely.

"I know."

XxxxX

**A/N: By the way, you might have noticed that I'm using moves and techniques that some of you might not be familiar with, since they are more like WoW entwined. **

**I'll give a quick explanation:**

**NOTE: The techniques and spells will be made to match this story a little better, as well as have some more realism in them**

'**Desecration': Corrupts the ground around the Death Knight, ****bathing it in unholy energy. The more powerful the Death Knight, the more powerful the spell is. Hands of the dead also rise from the ground, grabbing for any hostiles within the desecrated area. Their job is to either slow down or immobilize the target for him to be easy pray for the dark warrior.**

'**Charge of Vengeance': A technique I came up myself and it must be quite easy to guess what it does. Naruto builds up power within Ashbringer and then uses that power to charge forward and clash onto his opponent with amazing strength. Unfortunately though, the straightforwardness of this attack leaves it vulnerable to agile opponents, who can dodge and counter before the paladin recovers.**

'**Hammer of Justice': Modeled right out of WoW. But unlike in the game, Naruto and Hinata can summon their hammers as actual weapons. Though when they hit, these weapons don't cause damage, but rather the respective effect of the power that was put within them. Hammer of Justice stuns the target for a certain amount of time, depending on the power of the strike and **_**where **_**it hit. The receiver of the attack usually can't orient with any of his senses for these few seconds. Troublesome.**

'**Judgment of Light/Wisdom/Justice': The paladin judges an enemy, bestowing upon them either the aforementioned attributes. If the opponent has 'Light', every time the Paladin makes contact with the opponent or manages to damage him, any wounds the Paladin might have will begin to heal gradually.**

**The 'Wisdom' attribute goes by the same principle as 'Light', but rather than healing, the Paladin gains a better understanding of his opponent amidst the heat of combat, while in this state of inner tranquility the Light offers, the chakra coils of the warrior will also gradually be restored as combat intensifies.**

**The 'Justice' attribute is a bit different. It has of course to make contact with the opponent in its 'Hanma (hammer)' form to take effect, but the effects aren't beneficial to the Paladin in the restoring way. Justice controls the opponents sense of fear, making them unable to flee the battle despite being overpowered or even slaughtered to the point of extinction. If the enemy has no wish to leave combat to begin with, the additional effect is that he won't be able to move faster than the Paladin's current speed. For example, if the paladin walks, only at such a speed can the enemy move as well. Same goes for all other speeds, running, sprinting etc.**

'**Lay on Hands': One of the most powerful healing spells known to man or gamer. It takes **_**a lot **_**of chakra out of the user, I can say that if one's chakra is weak then the spell can actually kill him. The effects of said spell is complete restoration of the target's strength, health, stamina and chakra. Ultimate it seems, no?**

**The trick is that it can only be used once a day though. More frequent use from ones with chakras lower than a jinchuuriki means certain demise. Another drawback is that, while the ally is indeed restored, it leaves the caster vulnerable as said caster's power is already depleted.**

'**Death Grip': The Death Knight harnesses the unholy energies around him to summon forth a hand that abides to his will. It can be used to draw towards the warrior anything from a ball to a car, or throw away should the Death Knight desire it. Trick is that it can't be used very often since in order to achieve full power the unholy energies around the warrior must be restored first. Half a minute is usually enough time, less if the Death Knight is strong enough to harness more.**

'**Howling Winds': the Death Knight can turn a little breeze into a deadly, icy wind that can level whole buildings, depending on the power put in it. Death Knights usually favor close quarters combat so this particular spell isn't exactly favored. It's a good way of distracting an opponent though, as well as hitting them from a distance.**

'**Unbreakable Armor': Both the Death Knights body and his armor become harder than steel for a short period of time, granting him immunity to all physical attacks. Jutsus are unlikely to work either, since the actual force required to overpower this spell is beyond comprehension.**

'**Heart Strike': If this attack hits the heart, the opponent will die instantly. If any other part of the body is damaged by this attack, the unholy energies released from the runeblade will affect the enemy's circular system and blood flow, making his heart work abnormally for a short period of time, but disorienting him and making him slower while in effect.**

**Phew. That is all for now folks. Hope these had been useful. If you actually made it down here after reading all these, which I have my doubts that you did, please let me know if I missed something or if you require further enlightenment ^^**

**Always my pleasure, **

**  
HoNdeR All Mighty**


	19. Chapter 19: Frozen Mist

"**Hakai, where the hell is the script?"**

"**Right in front of you, blind moron!"**

"**Watch your tongue, servant."**

"**Awww, ain't you spooky now?"**

"**I think I'm going to make you mute for some time, just to make you cuter. Any complaints?"**

…

"**Thought so."**

"**And once again he's left speechless. Oh well, while Honder-sama tortures the poor fella, we'll have you guys reading this piece of art that our master worked hard day and night to…"**

"**Who the FUCK worked day and night?!" "Sshh, Hakai, you're ruining the mood!" "Sahana, get him out of here…" "Haaaiii 3" "No!! I shall not be defeated! My vengeance will come one day! You'll see! NOOOOooooo…."**

"**As I was saying, apart from the pleasantries, here's the next chapter of:**

_**The Ashbringer: Shinobi of the Light**_

_**Chapter 19: Frozen Mist**_

"I still can't believe you would come all the way here to procure something like this, Gorley." He glared at the paladin, who simply grinned back.

"Aw, come on! Ye know ye want it! A nice, warm alliance with the people of this land will help you grow roots here and empower your army as well. They might have a few corpses to spare…" Darion slammed his fist on one arm of his throne. The two where taken aback a bit, while Richard was already wondering off somewhere within the stronghold.

"I will _not, _put anyone else under this curse unless a desperate situation calls for it! We hold no right to bring others into this misery." He spoke with determination, words that he knew and felt to all extent.

"Yes, yes, and Richard isn't a sadistic warlock who eats babies for breakfast." He dismissed his words easily, at which the leader of Acherus faulted a bit. When did Gorley pick up such sarcasm?

"I'm not a sadistic warlock who eats babies for breakfast!" Richard's voice sounded offended as he walked into the room, gazing at all three.

"Ok, maybe I am sadistic, only a little…" he admitted "But not babies! Who would eat _babies?_" the mere idea sounded absurd. "First you kill them, _then_ you eat them! If they're dead, they're nothing but meat, right?" he shrugged, at which the ambassadors of Ho nearly fell of their feet.

Darion glared at the man "So… you're the famous Richard? The warlock that 'slaughtered the world'?"

Richard nodded, a smile on his face "Indeed, what a wondrous musical that was! Inspirational and colorful, a true work of art! I can still remember the fine tune of the music as I dance elegantly around the crowd, butchering every man woman and child I find before me…" a happy sigh left his concealed lips at the touching memory.

"Great times… great times…" and as the warlock lost himself in his own blissful trance, Darion regarded him with a last shook of the head before turning back to Poll and Gorley, said adventurers having already face faulted at how much such a memory seemed to lighten the undead up.

"How did you ever come across him?" he asked and Poll shook his head

"You won't believe me even if I told you." Gorley grunted while Darion couldn't help the rise of another eyebrow.

"Pray tell, mage." He urged. Poll nodded.

"Years ago, I happened to pass by the lands of Felwood. I accidentally found Richard hiding in one of those weird trees while being hunted by an infernal. I forced my way in the tree as well, but the damn warlock kicked me out the moment he saw the demon coming by! I fought against the infernal and thankfully defeated it, but when I turned back to the tree, he was gone…" wisps of smoke churned at the tips of his fingers as he weaved his hands around, trails of the cloudy appendage being left in its wake.

"I didn't know who he was yet. Neither would I believe he was the fearsome particular warlock. He was too carefree and sarcastic to be a blood letter. I also found out he has a fetish for bunnies…" he whispered the last words so that the person in question wouldn't hear. Not that he could, either way. He was still reminiscing.

"Imagine my surprise then, when next time I saw him was in Dragonblight, butchering a Taunka village. I asked him why he did it and he said 'boredom, mostly.'"

"The rest of the story isn't for living ears to hear. Its too stupid." Gorley cut in, intervening Poll's words. The mage looked disheartened for a moment.

"But why? I was just getting to the good part!" he complained at which the paladin relentlessly shook his head.

"Oh come on Gorley, let him finish!" Richard urged out of nowhere, and all three jumped. Darion grunted as he inched for his swords. He didn't like the warlock. At all.

"You know I can't, Richard. I still remember that time you put a ghoul in my bed…" he shivered… a lot, at the mere thought of it. Imagine waking up with something like _that _in your face.

"And I'll do so again one day my friend." Richard let his icy white fingers touch Poll's shoulder.

"I'll do so again…"

XxxxX

"Is everyone assembled?" his head felt a little dizzy and his body drained, but he could still stand. He had little other options than this anyway. Glancing around their group, he was glad that everyone was alive and well, despite some injuries that had occurred. Naruto was out cold due to chakra depletion, Kurenai had some medium injuries and everyone else had been let off easy with scratches and other minorities. Nothing serious.

But where was Tazuna, anyway?

As if to answer his question, a small area of bushes parted ways and dissolved into nothingness, revealing the frantic bridge builder. He smiled. Kurenai had already taken care of covering the client, it seemed.

"Is it over? Are they gone?" the elder asked in a hurry, at which the conscious jounin nodded.

"We've managed to push them back for now. But… the problem still remains that, we will all require to stand down for the day and tend to the wounded." He pointed towards Kurenai and Naruto. "We may have different missions, but that is no excuse to leave our friends and fellow ninja aside. For all we know, Zabuza of the Mist might be the one committing the murders we came to investigate in the first place…" Kakashi couldn't deny that chance. The rogue was a cruel man, after all. God knew what he was doing with the corpses of his enemies.

But from the start, their targets seemed to have been the bridge builder alone. That only pointed towards Team 8 mission. Kakashi wouldn't be there to help when the next battle arose… for better or for worse, they had their own mission too.

He was glad for one thing. If they hadn't come along, Team 8 alone might not have survived this. Sure they where an excellent bunch with aspiring genin, a girl that could wield powers beyond this world and a jounin that had mastered the art of genjutsu. But all eight of them together had managed to take their three attackers down. Would it be the same if Team 7 wasn't here? Would there have been casualties otherwise?

The demon of the Mist… a rogue hunter that probably served under him, and people with powers forlorn like Naruto's kept popping up out of nowhere.

Where was the world coming to? What was next? Swine sprouting from the ground, or pink elephants parading in the sky? Maybe both…

"Sasuke, Sakura, Shino, I need you to put tents up by the lake. We'll stay here for now, and make the last part of this journey tomorrow." He also recalled the fact that Kiba was unconscious as well, as was his dog. Three people where unconscious and Kakashi was sure he had no strength to carry any. His Sharingan was more taxing than it looked…

"H-Hatake-san, can't we move on today?" Tazuna asked all of a sudden, gaining the jounin's attention. "A friend of mine will be waiting by the shore a few hours from now. He's boat is the only safe way to reach my country without being noticed, since the bridge isn't complete. If we don't meet up with him today, he'll assume I'm dead! This can't come to pass! Not now!" he seemed more than desperate. Kakashi sighed as he tried to think of a possible, passable solution.

"Give me one reason, as to why we should push on today." He spoke, trying to find some reason since nothing came to mind.

"If they think I'm dead, the country will fall apart for good! I am what hope they have left! Without me, without my bridge, Gato's grip will never seize over our lands! Don't you understand…?" the old man lowered his voice for a moment "You think we would lie to you if we weren't desperate…? We have nothing! And that nothing, Gato comes to take away as well!" he yelled once again. Kakashi could see his reasoning behind this. Emotional as it was, it still was some solid evidence that this country would be doomed should Tazuna not make it back. There was far more at stake here than what the jounin had first estimated.

And once again he wondered if Team 8 would manage through this.

Letting out another long breath, the jounin nodded towards Shino "How much chakra you have left?" the Aburame remained silent for a brief moment.

"An amicable amount, yet it won't suffice for long. Hatake-sensei, I request permission to take a quantity of chakra from Uzumaki Naruto as well." He said, pointing towards the sleeping blonde, cuddled in Hinata's hands. The girl looked up at them for a brief moment, wondering what they where talking about. She couldn't hear from this distance.

"As I recall, he must have less chakra than any of us right now."

"Quite the contrary, Hatake-sensei, Naruto's chakras exceed all of us put together at the moment." He informed and Kakashi's lone eye nearly jumped out of its socket. Sure he knew that Naruto had a bunch more chakra than normal people did thanks to his demonic tenant, but that much after using such a large scale attack?

He actually wondered just how much power could the boy accumulate in the future, if he already had the chakra coils of a high jounin. It would be insane… and he would love to watch it. It would be more fun than a book he had already read ten times over, would it not?

"Just do what's necessary to move them all, Shino." Kakashi relented with a shook of his head. A headache was forming and it wasn't at all welcome in the state he was at the moment.

After Shino took the necessary chakra out of Naruto with his bugs and bestowed it upon himself, swarms of said bugs rose to pick up their unconscious teammates, letting them rest on black sheets of tiny insects. They wouldn't mind while asleep, would they?

Kakashi put it on himself to carry Kurenai, yet had to use a soldier pill to keep himself going. Thankfully Kiba had plenty with him.

And so they moved forward, tired and wounded, they stepped forth towards the next objective. Ways to go still lied ahead…

XxxxX

"I see… the perks and requests are quite reasonable, considering the offer." Darion nodded after studying the scroll Gorley had given him. A diligent offer, it was.

"So, what say you, Darion Mograine?" the dwarf was unnecessarily formal. Despite having known each other for many years, that stupid bottomless keg still managed to switch between formality and rudeness like one would switch a light on and off.

"An alliance with the Leaf? I don't see why not yet I don't see why I should do so either." He sat back in his throne, rolling the document up "You said something about Ashbringer earlier, Gorley. I want you to continue." He spoke and the paladin grunted, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Bah, not a bit of trust in yer old friend, yer rottingness?" on, off, on, off…

"You know very well that Death Knights don't rot, unless they have already done so before their resurrection in unlife. Thankfully, I'm perfectly intact." Darion corrected him and the paladin scoffed once more.

"Anyways. You may be aware that Konohagakure no Sato has in its possession a valuable jinchuuriki." He paused, as Darion nodded. These human sacrifices were _very _rare and _very _valuable within these lands. Especially the one Konoha had.

"Said boy though seems to have more to it that meets the eye." The lord of Acherus didn't see well at Gorley's vagueness. He was doing it on purpose, agitating him that is.

"That boy is a Paladin, Darion. A Paladin trained by Tirion Fordring himself." He spoke at last, letting his words sink for a moment "And a paladin that happens to wield one of the most legendary weapons on Azeroth." The Mograine's eyes would have popped out of their sockets, if that was possible.

"Uzumaki Naruto has the Ashbringer, Darion. He wields the sword as a legacy from Tirion. He's powers as a paladin are still very immature, but his potential is tremendous. Especially if you consider the demon that resides within him… no one knows what power the combination of Kyuubi's yuki and the Light could bring forth. Maybe it would destroy him… maybe it will make him something greater." He finished, and Darion remained silent for a long minute…

"Why are you telling me all this now, old friend? What business would I have with Ashbringer, Uzumaki Naruto now? The blade no longer belongs to me…" his tone was bitter, like words lost in a dark night.

"Oh, but I believe it does. Sure you'd want to keep an eye over the legacy of your father, Darion. Wouldn't you like to see what will come of Tirion's choice?" that seemed to pick on the death knight's interest a bit.

"I have already seen the results of his choice." He frowned, taping his fingers on the helmet that now resided on one arm of his throne. "It involved lots of death."

It was Gorley's turn to unsettle his expression "You may be surprised, Mograine. You haven't even seen the boy yet, but I'll warn you: He _is _something. I've felt his presence in the village hidden in the leafs from the moment I stepped in there. Damn lad reeks of demonic chakra! And the strange thing is, that it doesn't seem to affect his connection with the Light one bit. The boy is a strong believer, Darion. He's not your everyday bubble-boy." The dwarf tried to reason, while the lord's eyes burned with doubt…

"Very well, Gorley." He picked up the scroll of allegiance "I will accept this proposal, on _one_ condition." The paladin waited for his next words.

"But first…" he snapped his fingers, and a few moments later, a tall man with long white hair walked into the room, his teal orbs casted downwards as he bowed before his leader.

"This is one of the newest additions in our ranks, a promising warrior from the lands of Snow. Introduce yourself, Death Knight." He urged and the man saluted, before turning to the three.

"Isha Hakai. At your command, my league…" he bowed before Darion once again. The leader nodded.

"Gorley, I want you to find Uzumaki Naruto and pinpoint his location for Hakai to follow." The newcomer seemed to perk up a bit at the sound of these words, expectant, ready.

"What will my mission be, my lord?" he asked respectfully.

The lord of Acherus simply smirked in response…

XxxxX

"How much time until your accomplice arrives, Tazuna-san?" Kakashi asked after they reached the sea shore. The old man shook his head, looking up in the sky.

"Maybe an hour or two from now. I'm glad we made it with time to spare…" he was obviously referring to the genin held by Shino, the blonde boy carried by Sasuke and the woman Kakashi had on his back.

Kakashi rubbed his head with one free hand "Then we'll set up camp for this couple of hours. Put them down and prepare a fire. I'm going to sleep…" he easily let Kurenai down and made himself comfortable on the sand. It took less than a minute for him to fall in seize less slumber…

Sasuke and Sakura went on their way to gather some firewood, while Shino and Hinata scurried the area for hostiles. Thankfully there were none.

"Why are with them again? Our mission is supposed to be a different one, right?" Sakura complained openly while grabbing some suitable looking sticks from the ground. Sasuke shrugged "Safer to travel as a group. More combat power. Strength in numbers." All these and maybe more, the Uchiha knew. Kakashi and Kurenai had probably taken in consideration that a situation such as this could pop out, making the mission harder to accomplish.

But not for either parties, right? Their own mission may have had nothing to do with Zabuza and his companions, or that Gato guy that wanted to take over Wave.

Maybe… just maybe…

Or not?

XxxxX

It was some time later that Naruto began to come about once more. First thing he noticed was the light fire before him, the intense heat it gave, and the gratefulness he felt for it, since it seemed to be quite cold…

Was he resting on something? He was pretty sure that the ground wasn't that soft, neither should it be warm…

Letting his eyelids open a little further, it soon came to him that what his head rested on was Hinata's lap. She herself was asleep, resting her back on a backpack. She would sure have a sore back if she kept like this for long…

Smiling to himself, he slowly rose from his position, careful not to disturb her. It seemed that the rest of the party was also around and about their own business. Tazuna was discussing something with Kakashi and Kurenai, Kiba was sleeping soundly on the opposite side of the fire, snuggling his dog along. Sakura seemed to nag Sasuke about something, at which the boy paid no mind as he enclosed himself in his own brooding world, and Shino seemed to be absent from the whole ordeal of people.

Not much to do, huh?

It felt hard to stir himself upwards. His body was still tired from that battle. How much time had passed? The sun hadn't set yet, though it was going that way soon. Albeit the fire and what rays of warmth the blazing star of day gave, the temperature in these lands still remained chilly.

Not that good of an excuse… but oh well.

Carefully holding her in position, Naruto took away the backpack and sat down behind her, letting his legs spread at the sides and hugging her sleeping body closely. Yep, much warmer this way…

She didn't seem reluctant either as she rested fully on him, welcoming the heat of his body.

Letting his own weight carefully on the backpack, Naruto made himself comfortable and once again began to drift off into the land of dreams, where a more pleasant reality awaited, where he could forget the worries of being alive, even for a moment…

XxxxX

"You think he will accept?" Poll wasn't sure what to make of the situation. Sure, the Ebon Blade could use a helping hand within this forlorn lands, bastioned by humanity alone, but would the death knights really fit in a world that thought of anything strange as a monster? Hell, one of their own kind, a mere demon carrier was thought to be an atrocity! Would they ever think of these undead warriors' as equals?

Well, they wouldn't be exactly equal. A death knight isn't your everyday shinobi. They exceed the powers of a mere jounin, each and every one of them.

"Darion? He better." Gorley mumbled, inhaling deeply in the cold air.

"The party's already over?" Richard whined, gazing at his companions with wonder.

"What party are ye talking about, yer piece of rotting bones?" the dwarf wasn't desperate enough to engage conversation with the crazy robed man. But he couldn't help the question either.

"We had such a great time torturing some imprudent humans at the lower levels of Acherus. Ah, their screams where delightful!" he giggled, a weird unsettling sound "The best part was when they tortured me too. It tickled." He giggled again and both Gorley and Poll felt a shiver run up her spine. Both knew it wasn't because of the cold weather.

"But what was his subordinate about? There's no reason to send a mere warrior out there." Poll wondered, remembering the facial expression of the death knight. It was… unsettling, in some strange way. The impassiveness on his face and the respect in his voice were… forlorn. Like a calm storm, that waited its precise moment to rage.

But rage towards whom…?

"Did he look like a mere warrior to you…?" Gorley mumbled after a few moments, his expression contorted in seriousness. Poll raised an eyebrow at his friend's words.

"That's right mage. I trust no death knight whether he be friend or not. We'll have to go and check for ourselves…" he spoke again and this time the taller human grinned widely.

"Does that mean we have another journey ahead of us?" he asked rhetorically, at which Gorley smirked.

"We be having a journey full of combat and death up till now mage. Up for some more?" his fingers went to caress the mace on his back. Poll's own pair of appendages went for his staff as well.

"To Wave it is then." He spoke with amused finality as the trio marched towards their new destination… the Hokage's document could wait.

Speaking of trio, why was Richard making snowmen anyway?

XxxxX

The little boat didn't take much longer to arrive at the beach the small company of shinobi resided, waiting. But hence the problem:

The boat was too small to fit all of them in one go.

And the row-man didn't seem that enthusiastic about making this trip twice.

"Are you crazy? I'm already risking my life by helping you, Tazuna. Please understand me, I have a family too!" the old bridge builder couldn't really oppose him. It was true that what the man did was already risky, and Tazuna was thankful that he took that risk. But he was a simple man that worked in one of Gato's docks. If any of Gato's henchmen took note of what he was doing here, he could be killed, or worse…

"I understand my friend. So please, give us a few more minutes." The old man said as he turned towards the shinobi teams.

"As you have heard, he can only take one team with him." As he spoke those words, his gaze was focused on the members of Team 8. Truthfully speaking, they should be the ones taken along, since it his protection was their mission to begin with. But, Kakashi's mission also took place in the land of Waves and he had to admit that those brats where very helpful as well. It felt ungrateful to leave them behind.

"Very well. I had something in mind for my team anyway… Kurenai and Team 8 can move forward with their mission." Kakashi spoke up and the woman beside him nodded. They had already discussed this. It was her mission. Her job. Accompanying as Team 7 was, their own objective lied far from defending Tazuna.

"Aww, we're going in on our own? Well, that's just a chance to prove how awesome I actually am!" Kiba half whined, half boasted. Shino pushed his sunglasses up an inch, the smallest sign of irritation he could ever show the world.

"If memory serves, you had been knocked unconscious during the whole of our last skirmish, Kiba." He reminded the Inuzuka accurately and as expected, Kiba didn't like having his mistakes pointed out.

"It was the luck of the moment! If I find them again…" he grunted, looking away. Hinata couldn't help the smile that crept on her face. Team 8 was just like that.

"Oi! Sasuke-teme! That's my sandwich!" a few ways away one could observe Uzumaki Naruto struggling to grab the aforementioned sandwich out of Uchiha Sasuke's hands, who simply devoured the piece of nutrition in one go. How he did that remains a mystery up until this day.

"What sandwich?" he answered, gulping it down. Naruto was practically fuming… he _wanted _that sandwich!

"Why you…" gripping a kunai, the blonde went straight for the onyx haired teen, who simply smirked as he grabbed a weapon of his own, parrying the blonde's strike.

"Pathetic." He spoke as he pushed him away, at which Naruto only answered with a kick to the head. Sasuke was agile enough to avoid it.

"Ever looked at your face in the mirror?" Naruto asked as he side-stepped an incoming punch.

"Kakashi-san, shouldn't you stop them?" Kurenai spoke as she observed the two members of his team struggling against each other. The Hatake simply waved a hand as he went on his way of reading the latest Icha-Icha issue. He had gotten this fresh piece of literature just for the trip.

"Nah, they're always like that. And it should be about… four… three… two… one…" he pointed a finger towards the two.

"Naruto-baka! Stop harassing Sasuke-kun!" yelled the screeching banshee that had taken up the name of Haruno Sakura, punching the lights out of an unsuspecting Naruto.

"Oi, Sakura." The Uchiha's voice strangely came from underneath her. Sakura reluctantly looked down to find Sasuke gazing upwards at her… and…

With a roar that could rival a raging lion, the Haruno grabbed her teammate and obvious fan-girl interest and threw him with all her might towards the still recovering blonde, who could do nothing as collision with the flying Sasuke became inevitable.

"They where pink again?" Naruto asked, rubbing his head. Sasuke dusted himself off as he stood up as well.

"Nah. Today's red." He said, and they both turned to gaze towards a _very_ scary looking Sakura. Was it even possible to twitch like that…?

The next moments that followed involved Sasuke and Naruto running for their lives as Sakura was on her way trying to bite their heads off.

For some reason Hinata was also included in the scene, blushing like mad. The price of innocence, they say…

"Does this happen all the time?" Kurenai asked, which seemed to be the only reason Kakashi took his attention away from his book, like his rampart team was a daily routine.

"Only on Mondays." He answered, returning to the piece of literature in his hands.

XxxxX

"So for what exact reason did we stay behind?" Naruto was clearly irritated for being separated from his friends. Kakashi didn't really care. The boy would have to deal with separations far worse than this, for that he was sure. That was the fate of every ninja…

"We can't impose on Team 8's mission and you know it, Naruto. It's their job to defend the bridge builder, so they have priority in heading over Wave with his transport. And as for how _we _will enter…" the jounin pointed towards the north.

"There's also that little thing called, shipyards. I'm sure they'll have something available for us…" he said simply and began walking towards the aforementioned direction.

"Kakashi-sensei, who is the client we're working for?" Sasuke asked out of the blue, and both his teammates seemed to share that question as they awaited their teacher to speak up.

"You'll know when we reach our destination." He simply answered, walking forward. Needless to say, the three weren't satisfied with this, but arguing with Kakashi was pointless in and on itself to begin with.

"Alright then! Come on guys!" Naruto yelled as he sprinted forward, leaving a trail of dust behind him as he nearly toppled over Kakashi. They could see the blonde's figure slowly narrowing into the distance…

"To the milky way!" they heard his voice from afar, sweat-dropping while at it.

XxxxX

Walking up and down wouldn't save the world. Brainstorming over past deeds wouldn't do so either. Actions had to be taken soon, the people of this land had to know! But, how do you break such news to the ignorant? How can you tell them that their world is marching towards destruction when they naively live in their own little worlds, quarreling over pitiful matters and wasting their existence around?

Reports from various parts of the Elemental Continent spoke of extreme danger. Areas that where cut off from the world or poor in power and economy where seriously afflicted, plagued beyond hope.

If he didn't hurry, the lands of Whales, Flowers and Corn would soon turn into a manifestation of the Plaguelands. And that would be the first stepping stone for the upcoming invasion. Countless undead would rise from those lands to devour their neighbors, who would in turn rise again to continue the massacre. The Five Great Nations would be caught by surprise, their lack of knowledge and dodging of the matter the reason for their demise.

He was already targeting someone… that much he knew. He could feel it. Like what happened in Lordaeron. He would destroy the great nations from within. He would crush everything and leave only bones and death in his path.

This would not come to pass. Azeroth still clang to what strings of existence remained. He would not let this world have the same fate! He would kill him… he would annihilate him… it was his vow! His duty!

Soon it would be time for the Ebon Blade to rise and take action. Soon they would have to reveal their presence to this insolent world. And soon he would rise as well, to counter their oppression, to silence their shouts, to drown them in the darkness…

He had been extremely weakened by his battle in Icecrown. Was it not for Tirion's sacrifice up there, he would already be strong enough to shatter this world without even breaking a sweat. But Tirion had given them time. Time to prepare. Time they wasted.

But no longer. They would stay ignorant no longer. The drums of war would sound once again… united, they would all crush him under their feet! But…

Unison was a far away dream in this war torn place, a land that humanity fought in between itself since there where no other strong races to struggle against. So they turned towards their selves.

Humans…

Pathetic.

What would he have to do to make them understand? How could he ask of them to trust each other? How to achieve something they had not in all the centuries that lied behind them? All these questions, but no answer. Nothing.

Their operations in Suna had kept him at bay… the desert would be the ideal battleground for his undying minions, who would easily hide in the sand and ambush by-passers. His knights had prevented an outbreak in the village hidden in the Sand. He was pushed back, for now.

The most concerning thing was these new types of undead that seemed to sprout from place to place. Aside from the regular ghoul or wandering spirit, his warriors had come across something remarkable and troubling at the same type.

There where undead that could use jutsus out there.

Unlike the scourge magi, these new type of skeletal or ghoul-like undead could use the techniques that compromised this world, katon, doton, raiton and so on. He had lost a few men to this surprise…

He had shunned Gorley before for suggesting the use of this land's corpses to fuel their own war machine. And he had to admit, there where plenty to go around after the so many wars this world had seen.

Sooner or later these dead would rise from their graves, break the boundaries of death and come back to unlife to slaughter the living… at his command.

Necromancers had already been spotted and hunted down across the lands. Small villages had already been lost in the more remote areas of the continent and bastions of the Scourge where already beginning to take form.

He didn't understand why humans did it. Why they answered his call. Did he promise them power? Eternity? Bliss? What could he possibly be able to offer that would have them giving up their very souls?

Within Konoha and Kiri had been the most powerful bases of the Cult of the Damned's operations in this world. Humans, living, breathing people, where helping the undead to bring this world to the flame! Insolent fools!

He had also had a strange report in Konoha about a scourge death knight… later that night his own warriors had investigated the scene when the ninja forces left the small battleground.

There was no doubt that this was a Paladin's work. Traces of the Light where left everywhere. But who would have guess, not a mere Paladin… but Ashbringer! At first Darion had thought it was Gorley. The dwarf was known for his reckless yet effective battle techniques, it would be no wonder if he didn't care about leaving clues behind. Not that the ninja could ever uncover them.

In the land of Waves as well… there had been two reasons he sent a warrior like Hakai there. First of all was to check out the so called Ashbringer that Gorley spoke of. The second…

Was an assassination mission.

XxxxX

"Isn't it a little ironic, going into Wave like this?" Naruto thought aloud as the small boat they had embarked on heaved and growled, pushing through the waves and towards the opposite shore.

"You mean…?" Sasuke didn't bother looking at the blonde as he relaxed on the railing, letting the consecutive sound of the ripped tides seep in his mind.

"Come on, we're using one of _Gato's _ships to go around, while Team 8 has a mission opposing said man to begin with!" the Uchiha could see the sarcasm in that. Two teams from the same village having two different missions in the same area. Strange.

"And besides, who can tell that we won't be ambushed or something?" Naruto let more of his weight on the railing, titling his head backwards towards the sky.

"Unless it's someone of Zabuza's level, we don't have a thing to worry about." Sasuke simply answered, his presence there yet still away in a far off land.

"But don't you think it's strange? Why appoint _us _such a job? What, the village hidden in the Mist is only there for the looks?" it was strange for Naruto to complain openly about something, but Sasuke had to admit that it would normally seem far more convenient to appoint a job at the shinobi village of your own country, rather than run around the continent looking for help.

"Think about it dobe." Sasuke began "The village hidden in the Mist probably knows the situation taking place in Wave. Remember, Tazuna relied on lying to us in the first place to take a C-rank mission, rather than the B or A rank the one Team 8 faces now is. They didn't have the money for B+. Mist would know that, thus they couldn't be tricked, thus they wouldn't help."

"But, it's like the Leaf village staying idle while Ho no Kumi is marching towards its own destruction!" Naruto tried to reason again. Sasuke sighed, staying silent for a minute.

"Perhaps people are more selfish than you think, Naruto." Was all he said, leaving the blonde speechless for a long moment as well.

"I know that…" he whispered after what seemed an eternity… not that either of them counted time.

"We both know that." Sasuke commented, finally opening his eyes and gazing at the blue sea around them. Marvelous it seemed, as the light of the sun reflected upon the clear waters. He could also see mist weaving itself at where their destination lied, probably a rather natural phenomenon for this land.

"Yo!" came a familiar greeting that phased neither of the two as their bored eyes fell on their teacher, who seemed to miraculously snack on something without having to remove his mask. A small piece of the rice ball was missing every time they blinked.

"How have my two wonderful students been doing on this fine day?" he asked with a smile. Sasuke and Naruto glanced at each other, before looking back at their teacher.

"Out with it." They spoke in unison, and Kakashi dropped his smile as a defeated expression came on his masked face. How did they _always _know when he wanted to ask something? Was he so easy to read? No, it had to be the rice ball… it betrayed him…

"Whatever. Sasuke, Naruto…" he glanced at each respectively "As you may already know, despite the poor condition of Wave, there are still rich families around. Supported by Gato, mainly, for he's using them for his own benefit as well. The power the nobles of this land have was eagerly sold out to the man a few years ago. That's when this country began to crumble." He began to explain slowly.

"A few years ago, one of these rich families, the Akada, had involved themselves in a grant jutsu that was said that could bring back the spirits of the dead. They wanted to take advantage of this power to uncover the hidden treasures of their family, to be told their location from the ones that hid them in the first place." Both teens seemed to eagerly listen, even though Naruto was beginning to twitch for no apparent reason.

"During the ritual that would grant them their wishes, something seemed to have gone wrong. Instead of summoning the peaceful dead spirits of their forefathers, they summoned something known as…" he paused for effect.

"The Damned." He nearly smiled, seeing Naruto shiver all over.

"Spirits of the dead from the previous ninja wars that had fallen in this land rose to fight again. These spirits probably think that the war still rages, so they kill every one that comes into sight, friend or foe. Not that they have any friends, probably…" he mumbled the last part to himself. Sasuke frowned at the man.

"Why not call a priest then? Why ninjas?" he asked. Kakashi smiled at the insightfulness of the question. Truthfully, such troublesome spirits could be more easily dealt with by a monastery, rather than a ninja village. But here comes the catch…

"Remember that I said, it was a _jutsu _that brought them here. That means that someone had to be controlling them, otherwise they would either run rampart or they would diminish, since no chakra would be fed to keep them here on this plane."

"So… someone is butchering people around Wave. Isn't this a little higher than C?" he finally asked. Kakashi smiled yet again "True, this mission is actually a B rank. It might even get tougher as we go." The smile he wore clearly contradicted the seriousness of the situation.

"That's why the Hokage assigned these missions to us. Team 8 and Team 7 will be able to help each other out should the need arise, but I doubt it will." His tone came down a little…

"I've soloed far worse than this, Sasuke. Don't worry." He spoke with a reassuring smile, which didn't seem to phase the Uchiha's glare.

"This isn't a solo mission though." He retorted.

"True." Then they both finally noticed the lack of Naruto in the conversation. Looking around, both nearly fell over at seeing the usually courageous blonde shivering and twitching on the ground, curled up in a ball and mumbling something about 'ghosts'. Who could ever guess?

"By the way, have you told Sakura about this?" Sasuke questioned after a moment, leaving the frightened blonde alone. This reaction was better than one he had seen a few years back at the academy, when someone pulled a prank on Naruto by disguising themselves as a ghost. The result was Naruto screaming and running all over the place, becoming the laugh stock of the academy for the next few weeks.

Of course, the prankster hadn't let this insult go unanswered. Using a handful of spiders, some flour and good timing, he gave the one that scared him an experience that would probably haunt the boy for life. That particular boy was one of the very few that failed to pass the genin test… there was a spider on his shoulder and he passed out at the sight. Thankfully he wasn't dead. Yet.

"Yep, even though she knew most of the story already. She's pretty knowledgeable about most of the things in this place." A proud smile came over the jounin.

"But she sucks at combat." And this flattened the chest of the man. But, the Uchiha couldn't see the smirk that formed behind the teacher's mask.

"Well then, since you're so much better at CQC, Sasuke, why not help your teammate out?" the mentioned boy raised an eyebrow in question. What was he getting at…?

"Isn't that like, your job?" he questioned and the man simply grinned widely. Not that his teeth where visible. His only eye was.

"True. And I will indeed train you all during this mission. There are some chakra control exercises that I had in mind…" he began, taking a thoughtful expression on. He expected that Sakura wouldn't need this training though… the girl may have had small chakra reserves, but her control was very good, maybe as much as a Chuunin's.

"But, considering there is a considerable level of danger around, I won't be able to train you all twenty four/seven. That's why I need you Sasuke to help her with taijutsu whenever possible." He reasoned, at which Sasuke's eyebrow twitched. He needed a way out… now.

"Why not Naruto? He's good at melee combat too." He tried the escape, but he already knew himself that it was in vain.

"Naruto is a swordsman, Sasuke." His teacher pointed out the obvious. Truthfully, at their last battle with Zabuza, the blonde had only used his blade to fight. His taijutsu existed only for evasion. All the fight was around his sword.

"Yeah…" he glanced at the wimping blonde. Seeing that there was indeed no escape, he sighed, surrendering to his fate.

"Fine. I'll help Sakura with her taijutsu. But…" he glared at the jounin.

"I want you to teach me a jutsu in return." He spoke with conviction. Kakashi seemed to consider this for a moment…

"Very well. If the results of Sakura's training are plausible and you are ready yourself, I'll teach you something I had in mind." He answered, patting his pupil on the shoulder.

"Sa, we'll be reaching shore in a quarter of the hour or so. Meanwhile, try getting him up." He titled his head towards the ghost-mumbling Naruto. Sasuke frowned as he shook his head.

XxxxX

"This place… reeks." Sakura's tone was agitated as she closed her nose, trying to walk away from the stacks of fist or other sources of foul smell. Wasn't easy though, as the whole port seemed to be full of those.

"Relax and enjoy the scenery, Sakura." Kakashi said with a smile as he walked through the piles of boxes, fishes, fishnets and the like, miraculously not bumping into anything even though his face was buried in his book.

"Kakashi-sensei… those guys are giving me a weird look…" she whispered and the man raised his lone eye to peer at the residents of this port. Yep, every single one of them seemed to be a woman-deprived sailor that would leer at the sight of any female. Poor souls. He pitied them.

"Don't worry Sakura, I'm sure that…" he couldn't finish his sentence as one of them, quite well build to add to it, began to inch closer to their small group, thinking he went unnoticed. He probably had never met ninjas to begin with…

"Never mind." He spoke, preparing to keep any idiot away from his student.

That same man seemed to extend a hand, a barely visible gesture, as he passed by them. It was going straight for Sakura's bottom and…

The pervert was send flying to the sky, probably at the borders of the stratosphere, as Sakura retracted her fist, satisfied with the outcome of her attack.

"Iko." She simply said, moving forward, leaving two dumbfounded teammates and a teacher looking at the sky along with the rest of the men that resided in the area. Needless to say, none of them dared even a glance at her again. She was _scary…_

Kakashi wasn't that much surprised. This was the legendary '_Beat the Pervert no Jutsu'_, a special technique that every female knew and instinctively drew upon whenever a lechery male dared anything weird against them. The purpose of this jutsu was to cause extreme pain to the pervert, but ironically, as history had taught them, it also seemed to turn said pervert into a masochist, letting him continue his lecherous acts regardless of the times he was beaten.

Women… what a wonder indeed.

Hormones too.

XxxxX

"Now, now, as you may all have guessed, we will be heading over the Akada residence." Kakashi spoke as they walked through the dusty street, the soil soft and the grass meek from the enveloping mist. Thankfully it was nothing thick.

"And… the client's daughter tends to be a little… too friendly. Be careful and remember your position." He glared, especially at the two males. Sakura simply smiled back.

"Aw, come on, Kakashi-sensei. How bad can it be?" Naruto said, crossing his arms over his chest. The Cyclops did have a tendency to exaggerate things.

The man gave the blonde his eye smile, an action that spoke of mischievous things to come…

"Aside from the hormonal daughter, there's also their little son. The boy is very reserved, I would advise not trying to talk to him. He's… not good with people." He advised again.

"What do you mean, 'not good with people'? He's ugly or something?" Sakura questioned and Kakashi sighed.

"You'll see in the long run. Just… do as I tell you. And… everyone." He stopped walking to look at his students in the eye, respectively each.

"What I wanted to ask before on the boat, but Naruto was to preoccupied to hear…" it was an eyesore that he pointed out the blonde's fear fit for ghosts.

"Is that all of you will _not _go _anywhere_ without my permission. Is that understood?" they all gulped as thunder rolled in the background, Kakashi's intimidating pose enough to freeze them all in their tracks.

"B-but, what about the pony?" the whole world fell over as the dangerous atmosphere disappeared.

"What pony?" none of them knew that a certain warlock somewhere in Ho and on his way to Wave sneezed loudly onto a curse-mumbling paladin who after throwing insults hammered the man across a tree. What a coincidence.

"The one that's behind you, sensei!" Naruto pointed out the obvious (for him at least) and Kakashi sighed as he turned to look over his back. His eyes went wide though as the image that greeted him was…

The horse sneered loudly in the jounin's face, who looked at the animal with one gaping eye.

"Oh, gomen, gomen, did my little Po-chan scare you?" spoke a female voice, one that none of them was familiar with.

As they looked beyond the horse and at its rider, they all gaped even more (yes, even Sakura) at the girl that rode the beast. Long, wavering blonde hair, crystal blue eyes that reflected endless seas, a light pink dress that danced around her figure and a slim face that complimented the rest of her body, like a jewel placed upon a crown.

She was _gorgeous_.

The girl giggled at their amazed expressions. Only Kakashi seemed to recover quickly enough.

"Akada… Miyako, I presume?" he asked with a smile, at which the girl returned with another giggle. The members of team 7 looked at the girl with wonder. She was an Akada? Meaning, their client?

"Yep! And you must be Hatake Kakashi-san! How lucky of me to find you all here!" she said in a cheerful voice, as if the occasion was something remarkable. The man continued to smile.

"We where on our way to your house, Miyako-san, but I think it would be easier of us to reach our destination if you kindly lent a hand?" he clearly missed his students' grossed out expressions at his attempt to flirt, or being nice whatsoever. The girl giggled again.

"Of course! Tou-san will be glad to see you have all arrived safely! Danke-chan will be glad to see you again too, Kakashi-san!" she said in that overly cheerful tone. Naruto frowned for a moment. Hatake knew of them, personally?

"Well, well, let's get going shall we?" the man chuckled nervously as he pushed past the horse and started marching awkwardly down the road, sensing the doubt coming from his students'. He would have explaining to do, later.

"Haaai!!" the girl shouted in joy as she turned her horse around and began galloping past Kakashi, the man sighing after she went out of line of sight. She was cheery as ever, maybe too much for her own good.

"What was that about…?" Naruto questioned after a long moment.

Kakashi looked at the blonde "I told you she is overly friendly. With anyone." He began walking again, wanting to reach their destination at some point of time. Sitting here wouldn't achieve that, right?

"Lets get moving, Sakura, Naruto, Sasuke." He motioned for them to follow and they all did so, Sakura for some reason brooding, probably jealous of the blonde beauty. Well look at that…

Albeit from their heightened senses and Kakashi's veteran perception, none of them noticed the crimson red eyes that watched them from the shadows of the mist, chuckling to itself in the enveloping darkness…

XxxxX

(WARNING: You might not understand a handful of terms in this Omake, since it's more like on the WoW-gaming side -.- Enjoy, regardless.

)

_**Adventures in Azeroth **_

_**Lerooooooooooooooy...!!**_

The danger was close, the smell of blood and fear lingered in the air… but the heroes strived on, ready to overcome any obstacle, ready to face whatever horrors awaited them.

"Sakura, I need you to raid heal this one. Hinata is main tank healer and Shizune is on the off-tank. Got it?" he spoke and the mentioned individuals nodded, gripping their staffs and preparing their spellbooks.

"Sasuke, you dps the add on the right. Mutilate the shit out of it, k? Naruto, Blessing of Might on the melee and Hinata blessing of Wisdom on the casters." They all nodded, gripping their weapons and preparing for combat.

"Shino, Kiba, you guys kite the adds on the left. Use your pets to grab any runners." He instructed and the two nodded, determined to end this with one go.

"Yosh! I'll make them pay with my fires of youth!!" Lee shouted in excitement as his hands went on fire, a flame strike sprouting around him. Miraculously they all evaded it in time.

"Lee, control yourself my youthful student! Your purging fires will soon reach the heart of Icecrown Citadel and burn the Lich King to the ground!" Gai shouted, earning the wide, teary eyes of his student.

"Gai-sensei…" and the background rolled into a sunset as Lee hugged his teacher, both of them crying their eyes out.

"Mataku… both of them are at it again." Kakashi sighed, playing with his daggers. "Oi, Hinata. Cleanse them." He said and the girl obliged with a smile as she cast the spell on them both, dispelling the illusion of the sunset. Too bad she couldn't stop the crying as well.

"By the way, where's Naruto?" Kurenai questioned, petting her Voidwalker. The demon purred for some reason, as if it was a joyful cat.

"He's sitting over there eating crab cake. Not sure why." Kakashi pointed a thumb at a corner of the room, where the blonde Paladin sat munching onto something and mumbling incoherent things.

"He's AFK. Should I /rw him?" Minato, the only death knight and leader of the group asked. Kakashi shook his head. "He's probably snacking on ramen again. And by the way, how the hell did you manage to play WoW through the Shinigami's belly, Minato?" he questioned and the blonde death knight grinned widely at him.

"There was an Admin trapped in there and we became great pals. That's how." He simply reasoned and Kakashi sighed again. The devil's luck seemed to follow this man even in death. Friends with an admin? Probably free game time as well. Lucky bastard.

"Shouldn't we get going soon? We just have to beat up this boss before marching up the stairs and confronting Arthas, right?" Sakura asked, pointing out the obvious. The whole raid nodded.

"Oi, Naruto…" she went to nudge the blonde, who suddenly jumped up and looked around hastily, as if surprised. Everyone stayed silent for a moment.

Naruto glanced at the cake in his hands, before looking back at them. Then he dropped the cake and rushed towards the boss room, applying the rockets on his boots for extra speed.

"UZUUMAAAAKIIIIIIIIIIIIIII NARUUUUUUUTOOOOO!!!" he roared as he aggroed the skeletal guardian of the Frozen Throne, bubbling himself up to avoid one-hit-pwning and letting the boss run rampart on his teammates.

"Chouji!! Grab the boss! Quickly!" Minato yelled and the teen obliged quickly as he taunted the monstrosity, earning its attention. The battle began to rage as heals, dots, hots and every kind of havoc went loose.

"Naruto you idiot! What the fuck is wrong with your brain??" The boss was out of control! The suddenness of it all didn't give the healers enough time to buff everyone! No buffs!!

"MORE DOTS!! KURENAI WE NEED MORE DOTS!!" Kakashi yelled as he blinded an add, backstabbing and killing another.

"AYEEEE!! My legs! I can't feel my legs!!" Lee roared as a paralysis spell hit him, his teacher evading it with Ice Block, which granted immunity to the caster, but would rend him immobile.

"Hots on the tank! Where the fuck is Ino?!" Sasuke used Evasion to dodge-tank a trio of adds that where on him, thankfully one been sheeped by Gai.

"Ino! How many times do I have to tell you to heal in tree-form?!" Kakashi shouted as the girl kept casting numerous Healing Over Time spells across the battlefield.

"But it leaves wrinkles afterwards! And it's hard to move in!" she pouted, using Entangling Roots on a skeleton.

"Who gives a fuck about wrink…" "AYYEEE! My arms! I can't feel my arms!!" Lee was once again incapacitated.

"DOTS!! MORE DOTS!!!"

"Chouji's in Last Stand!! He won't last much longer!! Spam heal the tank! Spam heal!!" "Where's Tsunade when you need a Lay on Hands…?" "The adds are killing the healers! Sakura's down!!" "What the fuck is the Off Tank doing…? Minato!" "…And why the fuck is Sakura only healing Sasuke?!!"

"Guys! It's time for our secret weapon!!" Naruto yelled out of nowhere, and the whole game seemed to pause. Hell, even an Orc that was ready to one-shot a Human noob in Elwyn paused in anticipation.

"I will invoke the powers of the past, to let us be rid of this evil…" Naruto closed his eyes, concentrating hard… the wind around him shifted, the chillness in the air increased ten-fold. Minato's Army of the Dead fell over, just for the hell of it.

"By the power of the Light, by the spirits of our ancestors, let the power flow once again in the world, let the legend be reborn in this time of darkness, though shall not fear the endless abyss, we will not…"

"Ignore him and tank damn it!" Kakashi yelled again and both Chouji and Minato went back on their respective roles. The fact that Minato's army of the dead aggroed every single add off him and had it running rampart around the group didn't help…

"Fireball!! Hit him with a fireball!!"

"_While the Light still holds, while the power remains…"_ Naruto's voice was only an echo through the raging maelstrom of battle.

"Ino! Battle-ress Sakura! And stop fucking healing only Sasuke damn it!"

"_Come to us… I invoke your power…" _

"Hinata! Shield the dps! And stop looking at Naruto! What is he doing…?" Kakashi looked at the blonde with wonder, as an enormous amount of power seemed to gather around him. Omg, even the boss stopped to take a look.

"I CALL UPON YOU…!!" Naruto raised his hand to the sky, grabbing the fleeting fate.

"**THE POWER… OF…"** the world paused once again. The Orc was getting annoyed.

"**LEROY JENKINS!!" **he roared and the power was released…

"_AYEEEE! It's a wipe!!!" _

Seconds seemed to tick by, hours, an eternity… when the blonde opened his eyes again…

The boss one-shotted him. Then it returned to its original position, laughing at them all.

"Naruto… you're an idiot." Sasuke commented.

"Naruto-kun, who's Leroy?" Hinata asked kindly, even though she herself was surprised with the outcome.

"It's a wipe dudes. First time in history that there's team-kill in WoW." Kiba sighed as he hovered over his corpse, reluctant to resurrect again.

"Uh… but that weird looking paladin dressed with pre-BC gear said this spell could defeat anything…" Naruto said sadly, poking his fingers together in a very Hinata like fashion.

"Naruto, how many times have I told you not to take spells from strangers?"

"Last time he used that 'Rank3: LaGzoR' spell and had us all running on a wall for ten whole hours before someone asked an admin to help us." Sakura shivered at the memory.

"I would advise you to refrain from forlornly named spells like these, Naruto." Everyone could feel Shino glaring from behind his glasses. Unlike them, he had missed the wall and kept running across Kalimdor for a day…

Minato sighed "Ok, ok, we will try this again later. Everyone, go repair and resupply. I'll have a talk with my son…" the man frowned down at the suddenly chibi sized paladin. The whole group nodded as they hearthed away, only Minato and Naruto staying back.

"So… how did Uncle Leroy find you anyway?" Minato's dangerous demeanor was suddenly nowhere to be seen. Naruto grinned up at him.

"_I_ found _him_ eating crab cake at a corner of Ironforge." He said and this time Minato grinned as well.

"But the LaGzoR spell was really something. I hadn't had that much fun creating a spell since the time I made 'Rasengan'." The death knight said and laughed loudly, his son accompanying soon.

"So, what do we do next?" the teen asked, and his father smirked mischievously.

"I have something in mind… something called…"

"Oi! We're back!" They heard from the entrance of the instance as the whole group reassembled. How the hell Minato managed to take a scolding look and Naruto got on his knees crying, was something the Game Masters still try to look into.

XxxxX

**A/N: So… what did Minato have in mind anyway? Haha, dunno about you but I did like this Omake myself. Hoped you enjoyed the chapter =)**


	20. Chapter 20: Lost

_**A/N: I hope everyone is fine and enjoys teh festivities of Winter! You guys should be out there having fun but who am I to talk when I struggled to get this chapter done before New Year's...? I just NEEDED to finish it before then. I would feel like a loser if I did not. Please make my new year a bit better and drop some feedback! The Omake is specialy long this time ^^**_

_**The Ashbringer: Shinobi of the Light**_

_**Chapter 20: Lost**_

The world seemed to be a distant place at the moment. Worries and fears where settling themselves back along the deepening sunset, everything was so calm… tranquil, beautiful.

"We will be there soon enough." Kakashi spoke up as he took a glance down the road. The three genin nodded as they kept following their sensei, wondering what the whole situation would be about.

So the girl of the family seemed a little strange already, but nothing extraordinaire. By their teacher's words they had expected something far worse than that cheerful, maybe too happy attitude.

The people they where told to keep an eye on was the little boy and the mother of the family. They both where a little distant, but, as Kakashi had once again informed, they where nice people when you got past the ice.

Naruto then had happily put in his own remark, saying how _well _Sasuke would surely get along with them both. That earned him a glare from said iceberg and a punch from Sakura. The three then had continued to argue up until this point as for what parts of Sasuke where actually 'cold'. The target of the conversation was surprisingly the one that also kept his distance from it.

Kakashi would just chuckle as his team bickered between each other. It was usual of them, whatsoever.

There were only a mile or two left before their destination was reached. Naruto couldn't wait to officially start his first true mission, an opinion he shared with Sasuke, though the Uchiha was far less revealing about it, and Sakura was in between the nervous-wrack state and the fiery determination to appeal. Generally, a fresh bunch of genin that felt like heading towards the meat grinder.

"Oh. We're here." Kakashi said as if it was the most surprising thing in the world, closing his book and putting it aside as he started walking up the final part of their destination.

"Where is it Kakashi-sensei? I don't see- OH MY GOD!!" Naruto's voice just spoke the public opinion as all three Genin looked forward with their chins fallen on the floor and eyes wide like saucers. Their teacher seemed to be the only one unaffected though as he rang the doorbell.

Before them lied a tall, _very _tall and by the looks of it vast, fence wall supported by beams here and there. The massive steel gate before them looked almost unmovable, a fortification for what lied behind it.

From the fence they could easily see a garden that could more accurately be described as a _valley_, rather than the usual gardens rich people had with dwarf statues here and there. This one didn't have dwarf statues… hell, it had everything!

Two wells where visible from their point of view, as well as some patches of _very _tall grass, probably some kind of weird decoration, or a labyrinth whatsoever. Plant sculptures also dominated most of the space, varying from human forms to animals to symbols and so on.

And just to add that lovely cherry in the cake, the humongous mansion behind this all was probably the residence of their clients.

'_If this is a house… I can't imagine what definition of 'large' Kakashi-sensei actually has…' _ Naruto thought in awe as he kept staring at everything before him. It was just too damn big!

The creaking sound of the doors opening got them out of their trance as they saw their teacher walking inside as if he owned the place, like he just came home from a tiring mission and was looking forward to leap into his relaxing couch.

No surprises here. Kakashi was probably too laid back to care which property is his and which isn't.

Not having any other options though, the team followed behind their sensei, the door closing on its own behind them. Naruto was on the brink of screaming as he saw the huge metal gate moving without someone pushing it.

The Cyclops snickered as he looked behind him, hearing the blonde's muffled terror.

"Don't worry Naruto. Its that little human ghost called 'technology', you know." At the mere mention of the word the young Genin found himself shivering. His teammates weren't akin to his fears though as they followed strictly behind their teacher, living a frantic Naruto to trample behind them, watching every corner as if he was expecting a monster to pop out.

He wondered if the Ashbringer could cut through ectoplasm…

XxxxX

"Tsunami! Tadaima!" yelled a cheerful Tazuna as he stepped inside his home, glad to have that familiar smell and feeling back after so much time of traveling around.

Out of what should be the kitchen stepped a young brunette woman with her hair done up in a ponytail, an apron and a towel around her hands as she wiped them dry. Her blank expression immediately began shining as she took in the image of Tazuna, dropping the towel aside and charging into his embrace.

"Tou-san!" she yelled as she hugged her father, glad for his return. The man returned the embrace along with a hearty laugh.

"Mhahah! Sorry to have worried you, Tsunami, but the journey was surely worth it! I found the mightiest bunch of ninja to help us!" he said with pride as he extended one hand towards Team 8 that stood a few steps behind him at the door, nervous to have intruded at another person's residence. Kurenai, Hinata and Shino where the ones to remember their manners and bow before the woman, greeting her formally, while Kiba quickly tried to copy them, if only a lot less elegantly.

"My, my, no need to be like that! If my father trusts you then so do I." she said with a kind smile, trying to ease their hearts. It worked a lot as they all relaxed, glad for the woman's friendliness.

Kurenai snickered "We will be under your care, Tsunami-san." She said with another bow, which the woman returned. "It will be my pleasure." She said back and ushered them all inside, ignoring the laughing father beside her.

"Been some time since we had visitors! So how's dinner going Tsunami?" he asked as he settled in one of the kitchens' chairs, leaning back on it. The woman suddenly looked worried for a moment…

"Um… I didn't know we would have visitors, so the portions aren't enough for everyone. I guess I'll just have to cook some more." She said with a smile as she prepared to step back into the kitchen.

"Ano…" it didn't help at _all _that everyone's attention suddenly turned on her, like she was the only person in the room with the ability to speak and it amazed them to no end.

"If… if you don't mind… I can help you cook…" Hinata said with a nervous blush, looking away from the older woman. She was confident in herself, some time ago she wouldn't have even had the nerve to ask. But without Naruto beside her, without his presence to encourage her, she felt so… empty. She needed something to feel that void up for now. Being busy would help.

Tsunami at first thought of declining. A guest doing work wouldn't be proper. But then she noticed the way the girl had asked her. It was obvious that she had built up some effort to get the words out, and the stance she had now, eyes averted from her, spoke of her unease, that she would be turned down. Well, she wasn't one to break another's heart, was she?

With a smile, Tsunami nodded "Why not? I never had someone help me cook. It should be fun!" she said and Hinata looked up at her with an excited look in her eyes and a smile on her features, like a great opportunity had just opened up before her.

She hurried aside the woman and they both entered the kitchen to prepare the rest of dinner.

Tazuna chuckled as he himself ushered the rest of the team to sit down.

"Tsunami loves cooking. It's been one of her passions since she was young, and I'd be damned, she's really good at it too!" he said with a laugh.

Kurenai smiled at the man "Hinata too is one sucker for cooking. I've known her since before she became a member of this team and…" she stopped in reminisce "she had always adored creating things people would like with her own hands. Like her mother…" a sad smile came over her lips as she remembered the mentioned woman.

"Her mother has passed away huh?" the jounin was a little amazed that the man had made such an accurate assumption just from the sadness she had allowed to display on her face.

"Jii-san… who are they?" they all turned in surprise at the new, much younger voice. Looking at the stairs that connected the dinner table with the upper floor, they all saw a small boy looking at them with wonder and scorn, a straw hat on his head.

"People I hired to protect our precious bridge, Inari." Tazuna spoke seriously as he pointed towards Team 8, who all nodded in their own way, Kiba giving a wide grin.

"Why? They'll all die anyway." The boy spoke, shocking the four ninjas, but Tazuna only frowned.

"You'll all just die! So why bother? Why struggle? You should go back now or you'll just die!" he nearly screamed at them. Both Shino and Kurenai noticed Kiba, who was ready to jump up and punch the light's out of the kid at any moment. The Inuzuka was never known for his good control over his temper…

"Listen there brat…!" he tried to begin but…

"Kiba!" Kurenai commanded and the pre-teen looked at her with a look that doubted her sanity and, if Akamaru could wear an expression it would probably say the same too.

"Fools!" Inari yelled at them again before running back upstairs, vanishing from their sight.

"What's up with him…?" Kiba pouted, crossing his arms over his chest, unhappy to not have let some frustration out on the little dude.

Tazuna shook his head "Inari… like that Hinata girl, had someone very precious snatched away from him in a very tender age." He said, grabbing his flask and taking a swing.

Kurenai frowned. She had never mentioned Hinata having lost her mother, despite the man's assumptions, let alone the fact that her mother was also lost when the girl was young.

She let it slide for the moment. Tazuna had most likely guessed right once again.

"I'll tell you the whole story when the girl gets here too. I don't like repeating myself." He said, taking another long sip from his flask. The others nodded, picking up conversations between themselves as they waited for the food to arrive. They had been walking non-stop since leaving Konoha and, needless to say, they where actually tired.

Kurenai couldn't help her mind from drifting to Tazuna every now and then, keeping an eye on him. She just felt… strange, all of a sudden, like an omen was taking place in her heart…

She would only wait and see at the moment.

XxxxX

"How the hell can four people live in such a place?" Naruto wondered out loud as he took in the massive halls, filled with paintings and sculptures, decorations and artistically made patterns. Everything _screamed _damn expensive. Hell, even the rugs!

Even as the three seemed amazed out of their minds with this situation, Kakashi looked unaffected by it all. There where times that all three doubted he was even human… maybe he hid his face for that reason? What lied behind the mask really? Ominous long fangs? Thick, large lips? Enlarged teeth? A pimple?

So many questions and yet…

"Oh my! They're already here!!" screamed a thick, male voice and they heard footsteps suddenly rushing towards them from an unknown direction.

"Kakaaashiii-saaaaaaaaaan!!!" They heard that familiar cheerful girly voice screaming as she jumped to hug Kakashi. The man easily dodged as he bent forward.

"Hey look, a penny." He said, picking up said coin even as Miyako collided with the unsuspecting Naruto, dropping them both on the floor.

"Oh, Kakashi-san, I've missed you so much, I've got so many things to talk to you about! I've bought a new collection of dolls and, and, papa said he'll buy me a pony too! And, and…" she kept blubbering nonsense and rubbing herself against Naruto's form, not aware yet who she was hugging. The blonde on his part was furiously blushing at the overly close contact.

The three still standing nin sweat-dropped at the blonde who silently screamed for help. Sakura was blushing herself while Sasuke simply turned away, ignoring the scene. Kakashi was the only one nervously chuckling.

"Umm… Miyako-san… I've over here." He said and suddenly the girl froze in her spot, her body turning rigid and stiff at a mere moment. She slowly looked up at Naruto's flushed face, blinking as if to make sure her eyes where right.

"Em… hi?" the blonde said with a grin, while Miyako blushed herself.

"Ano…" she began, still not moving from her position.

"Why are you here?" she asked in a curious tone. It was a strange situation when the one questioning was blushing too.

"You jumped him." Kakashi simply spoke, making the girl blush even more.

"KYAAA!!!" she suddenly screamed, summoning forth the jutsu every girl instinctively knew (See Chapter 19) to punch the blonde away, said boy sent flying across the hall…

XxxxX

"How the hell was it my fault?" Naruto asked as he rubbed his sore cheek, Miyako huffing next to him.

"It's your fault for being there in the first place!" she retorted.

"That's weak logic!" Naruto shot back, glaring at the similarly blonde girl. She didn't hesitate in glaring back at the Uzumaki who only intensified his own stare.

As the two locked themselves in a staring (no blinking please) battle, Kakashi chuckled, turning to refer to the two matured people before him, the father and mother of that wonderful young lady. Yep.

"Sorry for that one." He said while rubbing the back of his head. The father, a middle-aged short man that held a proud belly before him, dressed in clothes that screamed like the rest of his house, smiled back at the jounin.

"Don't worry, Kakashi. We know our daughter. She can be a little… affectionate, with strangers." He said and chuckled.

"Who the hell is affectionate?!" the girl in question yelled as she broke her gaze away from Naruto, walking away and out of the corridor with her chin held high.

It was the man's turn to be nervous. "And she can be easily offended too…" he added.

"_I'm NOT offended!!" _they heard her yell from behind a door, and this time neither Kakashi nor her father found it in themselves not to laugh.

"Glad to see you're all still the same, Riku-san, Yozora-san." He said, addressing them both respectively. The man, Riku, laughed.

"Cut the formalities my friend! I thought we where closer than that, no?" he extended one hand to pat the jounin, who chuckled in response. He could _feel _his team staring him down from behind, intent to pierce his skull with their curious gaze.

"Glad to have you here once again, Kakashi." The woman was a little taller than her husband, thin and dressed in a light red dress, short blonde hair that matched the color of her daughter and a pair of dazzling green eyes. Her husband, unlike her, seemed to have a less enriched head as the bald center of his head could actually repel the light of the candles off it. Strange.

She offered the jounin a kind smile which he returned with one of his own.

"I assume that you and your team must be hungry, Kakashi, am I wrong?" Riku said as he looked behind the man to the three genin that stood there, glancing around at the various paintings and decorations.

"Yep. We had quite the journey before reaching here." Kakashi said with a smile, remembering the _little _encounters they had faced on the road.

"Good, good! Come, then, come! We where going to have dinner shortly and there's more than enough for everyone! Let's sit on the table and discuss whatever matter is at hand, while catching up on anything interesting. Don't you agree dear?" he said with a smile directed towards his wife, who returned the expression.

"Why, yes. I'd be very interested to hear what adventures Kakashi has gone through since the last time we talked." She directed her gaze towards the man again who only chuckled nervously.

"Then, let's go! The dining room is this way. You remember, don't you Kakashi?" Riku asked and the jounin nodded.

"You go on ahead, Riku, Yozora. I have something I want to talk to my team about." He said, pointing a thumb at the trio who seemed far more interested with the decorations than the couple and their teacher.

"See you there then!" Riku said in a happy tone as he and his wife turned to leave.

Kakashi sighed, turning to address his team.

Catching their attention though didn't seem to be a problem since, the moment the Yozora and Riku where out of sight, the Genin where already staring intently at their sensei. Kakashi smiled awkwardly while rubbing the back of his head. Damn he had some explaining to do… again.

XxxxX

"So you see…" Tazuna spoke while munching on some rice.

"Inari isn't a bad child… he's just… wounded. His heart has taken a strike that has yet to be mended. I do hope that by succeeding in building this bridge, I'll be able to prove a point to the young lad. To mend him a little."

All of Team 8 had heard the man's story with interest. It seemed strange to come to know that tragedy could strike at any place at any time. There where times that Hinata had thought herself to be the sole person on this plane to have suffered such a past… but then came people that reminded her that she wasn't alone in this world, that there where others hurt out there as well. Sasuke, with the loss of his whole clan… Naruto…

How could she ever mend what he had lost so long ago…? Could she ever replace it? Could she ever become something more?

Her heart skipped a beat and her whole body grew warmer at the reminder of that day before they left Konoha for their first missions. She also felt like giggling like an idiot to add to it. Naruto had been so nervous that he nearly missed kissing her… well, he _did _miss, kissing only the side of her lips, but don't they say that the gesture is what matters?

He had given her a chance, an opening… all she needed was to take advantage of it.

During their whole journey here she had sought for a chance to talk to him, but alas, with a whole group accompanying them and two prying senseis, it was kind of hard to find some alone time. She would probably have to wait until they reached back Konoha safely… all of them.

She held herself from feeling dizzy. She felt so delighted that he would return her feelings that the whole world seemed to be a brighter place, that the sky itself was wide open there just for her. She felt like she could own anything…

But… what if he found someone else in this journey? What if he stumbled upon some other girl, that, naïve towards his past, would fall for him and steal him away? She couldn't argue that she had a solid relationship with him… he would be lost… taken away…

What if…?

XxxxX

"Well, I had a solo-mission here in Wave a few years back. I got into a messy fight and… well, also injured myself a lot…" he said, awkwardly rubbing the back of his head and chuckling.

"The Akadas found me and took care of me while I was unconscious. When I recovered I was about to leave but they insisted for me to stay, so… well, yeah, you can say I took some advantage of their hospitality…" he chuckled again.

"But it all turned out for the best, since the two nuke-nin I was supposed to hunt down came after this family for their wealth and probably… another reason." He frowned for a moment.

"That's pretty much the whole story. I defeated them on our second round and since then me and the Akada family have been friends. I pass by here whenever I get the chance." He finished and crossed his arms over his chest.

"And I still don't understand why I should explain this to a trio of Genin." Sighing, Kakashi shook his head in disappointment, more in himself than anything else.

"You know very well, Kakashi-sensei, that knowledge is one great power we can't push aside. The mere fact that you have a bond with this family is vital information in and on itself." Naruto said and they all had to agree with that. Knowing one's connections and bonds was serious information, able to be used in many ways, good and bad ones…

"Probably. But for now, I only wonder about one thing…" Kakashi took on a _very _weird smile as he pointedly look at Naruto.

"Hitting it off with Miyako, aren't you, Naruto?" he said with that smile, nudging the blonde on the side. The accused pre-teen found himself _wanting _to punch his teacher. _Hard_.

"But I wouldn't advise two-timing. Both Riku and Hiashi-sama are serious men. You could get yourself killed that way." He shrugged as he retreated back and towards the door, prepared to head out of the room his team had gathered for their little conversation.

"What does Hinata's father have to do with any-… oh…" Naruto began to question but stopped himself when realization dawned upon him. He glared at Kakashi's back, who was clearly trying to stop himself from laughing. Damn he _needed _to punch him at the moment.

"Why? What's going on with Naruto and Hinata? Or Miyako?" Sakura confusingly looked around the room for answers, but Sasuke didn't seem to care in explaining, Kakashi-sensei was already off and Naruto had a faraway look in his eyes that clearly said he wasn't on this plane anymore.

Sakura was pissed… but disappointed as well. Where was Ino when you wanted some good gossip? Stupid pig…

How could Kakashi know? Well, he was indeed a good friend with Hinata… maybe something more. But… she was acting like nothing had happened at all. Okay, so he _did _miss in that kiss… so what? Don't they say the gesture is what matters? He had expected her to say something, at least comment or downright deject him, saying she only saw him as a friend.

Had he misinterpreted her? Had he thought her friendship-love as something more? Hinata was a person that would be kind to anyone, even a beggar on the street. She was too kind hearted for her own good at times.

Was he mistaken…? Would she actually have no feelings for him? He didn't know what love was like… he didn't know what it was supposed to feel like… Tirion had shown one kind of love. The care of a father, he had found in that man.

But would he ever find something more in someone else? Was it even worth it brainstorming about it when Hinata had probably forgotten it already?

He had sensed some turmoil within her while they where on the road. He had hugged her when they had sat down to rest at the beach. In reminisce, he didn't know what reaction she could have if she had woken up in his embrace… he had pulled away before she had awaken. He would never know.

Maybe he was in the wrong to come to have some feelings for her. Maybe he had taken the wrong path. Maybe it was better for them to stay as friends…?

Maybe…

XxxxX

"… so I'll definitely need a description of the situation here, Riku." Kakashi nodded and his friend answered with the same gesture.

"Of course, we'll do anything to help!" he said, puffing his chest out. Kakashi chuckled.

"All this began a few weeks ago. Someone, I dare say, must have uncovered a _very_ well hidden secret of my family…" he spoke sadly, as if disappointed in himself.

"For generations now we have gathered and buried the corpses of our ancestors in an underground mausoleum, it designed to be labyrinth for any outsider that would dare enter. Even traps have been set in there, and the only one able to know where they are is me. Why something so complicate, you might ask?" he took a breath.

"It is _also _a tradition for our family to bury the dead along with their most prized possession. Some of my ancestors had been ninjas, some had been great alchemists, others scientist, but long story short, the mausoleum right now is filled up with treasures beyond a man's imagining, varying from shinobi scrolls to items of forbidden power." That was the moment he looked down, as if in shame.

"But… someone sneaked inside this sacred graveyard without me, my family, or even our guards noticing anything. It was as if a ghost went in and out." Thankfully Naruto wasn't nearby to hear that. Only Kakashi, Riku and his wife Yozora were in this little meeting.

"I still don't understand why, of all the money he would have made from all the treasures down there, the culprit seemed only interested in the 'Damned Scroll'. As you may already know, this item of forbidden power can resurrect the spirits of the dead into maddened phantasmal killers." He shook his head.

"I dare not imagine any member of my family doing this. I, my wife and my children live in this part of the mansion, but you'll find many Akadas running around here. I just can't think of anyone as being the culprit… since ages past, our dead had been considered sacred. Defiling their souls would be an outmost shame for our clan. And for the culprit." He finished and sighed. Kakashi remained silent for a moment…

"In the letter you send over to Konoha, you spoke of this scroll as an actual jutsu?" he asked and Riku nodded.

"So you're positive that finding the one behind this and stopping him would also halt the rampart spirits, correct?" he asked again and Riku nodded twice.

"Yes, after all, you need to feed chakra to this spirits in order for them to take an actual form and do harm. Without the master, the ghosts are nothing. My ancestors would be once more put to rest." He said, sounding hopeful at the prospect. Kakashi considered this for a moment…

"But why me and my team, old friend? This is a mission requiring at least Chuunin level shinobi. And we can't expect back up from the other team in Wave for they have equally dangerous trouble to deal with." He explained and Riku grinned widely.

"I do believe my dear Kakashi, that your team will be more than able to handle this little adventure. You yourself are a legend, the copy-nin Hatake Kakashi, son of the White Fang. After all, the summoner of this spirits won't be much trouble at all, or so I believe." He took a far away look for a moment…

"Fighting and keeping the ghosts alive at the same time is nearly impossible, my friend. This jutsu requires a _lot _of chakra to be distributed among the summons, making the one bringing them to life weak. You'll have to defeat either him, or the ghosts. Either way the situation will end to our advantage. That's why I believe that hiring more high level warriors would be vain. Its pretty simple, don't you think? All you have to do is find and exterminate the culprit, and you're done!" he said with a wide grin. Kakashi frowned.

"I know I can protect myself, but in the heat of battle it'll be hard to keep my attention on three genin at the same time. Can you give me any description of the spirits' combat abilities?" that way, he could at least prepare his team for the fight.

Riku nodded "Its pretty simple, my friend. All they are supposed to do is wail and come after you. You must be very careful to avoid their touch though, my friend. They won't touch your skin, but your very soul. Should they manage to reap it out, you'll be as good as dead." He warned.

"That is, pretty dangerous…" Kakashi admitted. He was in no mood to have his soul taken away. Riku on the other hand, let out a laugh.

"Aye, but the spirits are slow too. The only way for them to get you is for you to be trapped or a total idiot." Maybe Naruto would be in trouble…

"Anyways, that is the reason this mission is considered an A rank. Because of the death risk. The Hokage, I admit, was very reluctant in letting your team handle this to begin with, Kakashi." He admitted, and Kakashi's interest seemed to be picked for the first time this day.

"But, with a little persuasion and a good sum of money, I managed to get the right candidates." He spoke and the jounin eyed with suspiciously. What was he up to?

"I understand your turbulence, my friend. So I'll tell you my whole plan first-hand…" he said as the story began unravelling within his words…

XxxxX

"Stupid humans. They never change." He retracted his blade from the corpse, the blood on the sword evaporating into thin air…

"Come, mortals, and meet your end!" he glared at the insects before him as he charged forward, slicing through the bandits like a knife through butter. Correction, like a chainsaw through butter. They tried to parry his attacks to no avail, his strength overwhelmed them and sliced them in half, they tried to strike him from behind but again, no effect at all as his armour protected him fully from their low-grade weapons.

Stabbing one man in the stomach, he grabbed him by the collar, retracted his sword and threw the bleeding soon-to-be corpse at an incoming duo, all of them falling on the ground.

His blade was… _huge,_ too big for any normal man to carry, one handed to add to it! The way he wielded it reminded them of the missing nin Zabuza, but only a lot more bloody…

A black blade with dark-blue runes embedded to it was as long as the man's height itself, the hilt was decorated with skulls and numerous small runes, while the bottom of it was edged, one hit enough to penetrate and obliterate one's very skull.

The man licked the blood of his sword, marvelling at the taste.

"Fear… so delicious." His teal eyes shone with an otherworldly shine as he charged again, the men now, instead of throwing curses and attacking randomly, screaming and running for their lives. They weren't that lucky with that plan either as the warrior slaughtered them on the spot or from afar, sending powerful gusts of wind or _ice _itself against them. Hell, he even extended one weird magic purple hand towards a runner, then squashed him on a rock!

He gripped the last man standing from the neck, his futile attempts to lessen the tightening grip an amusing sight, at least for him.

"Despair… intoxicating." Cold snow and ice began to form in his hand, and the man screamed as his whole body began to turn into frozen concrete. The warrior grinned widely as he let the frozen man fall, then obliterated his body into tiny pieces of ice with one strike of his blade.

"Hardly worth my time. I do hope that you'll be… more of a challenge?" he made no move as a shadow began emerging from the trees, clapping his gloved hands, a grin of glee plastered all over his face.

"Good, very, very good. Such bloodbaths are worth of praise!" he laughed

"I merely taught them the price of their stupidity." He said, wiping the remaining blood of his sword. The tall, red-clad man grinned wickedly.

"Then I presume that you like teaching?" he asked, and the warrior stood still, a breeze flowing through his nearly white, long hair…

Then a smirk that rivalled that of Alucard came onto his face.

"Indeed." And with that, he charged towards the stranger. He couldn't see the look of glee that Alucard's eyes had taken behind his tinted glasses…

XxxxX

"You want us to what?!" Kiba yelled in exasperation. Kurenai nearly grunted at the frantic Inuzuka. Did he ever learn to just listen to his superiors, instead of blubbering whatever nonsense came to mind? Despite his protests, she wasn't going to change this whatsoever.

"You heard me well, Kiba. Tree climbing is a fundamental exercise for any shinobi, one which the two of you have yet to master." She explained and Kiba face-faulted.

"Two of us? What about Hinata?" he asked after he realized the lack of three people in her speech. Kurenai sighed again.

"I don't see the point there. She's a Hyuuga, so her chakra control should exceed you two put together. Remember that their Jyuuken requires great control itself. Now, enough chatter. Begin the exercise while I and Hinata… will have something different to go on about." She said with a way too sweet smile as she turned towards the girl.

Kiba groaned while Shino merely nodded, both of them turning to stare their massive and tall opponents down before beginning their tries to climb them on foot.

"What are we going to do, Kurenai-sensei?" Hinata asked after glancing at her teammates. The jounin kept that same creepy smile on her face.

"Why, of course, we are going to spar Hinata." She said and motioned for the girl to follow, taking them away from the other two struggling teens.

"I want to see how well you can fight at night, and gauge the capabilities of your… Paladin skills against shinobi ones. I want you Hinata to fight _only _by using the Light, while I myself will battle with physical ninja attacks only. Are the rules clear?" she asked as she stood up straight against her pupil. The girl nodded, a bit reluctant though at using her attacks against her own teacher.

"You can't use your katana either." She pointed out and Hinata nodded again, more worried now. Her swordsmanship was fundamental in using offensive moves! This lowered her attack capabilities by at least… maybe 67%? This would be tough.

"Oh, and one more thing." She turned towards the trees.

"NONE of you are going to sleep before Hinata defeats me!" she yelled.

"WHAT?!" Kiba shouted back as he lost concentration, slamming face first on the ground. Thankfully he was unhurt… for now.

Hinata gaped at her teacher for a moment before realizing the meaning of these words. It was up to her then, if her teammates would enjoy a resting sleep or be doomed into a waking day. Damn it…

She closed her eyes as she called upon the Light… she felt it then, that familiar warmth, that kind touch, that gentle caressing that was its power… and, a moment after she concentrated… were these images flying in her mind?

A large, _very _large mansion, an enormous garden with sculptures and ponds, labyrinths and small statues. Kakashi-sensei gazing at her from afar, she gripping the Ashbringer and setting herself to fight. Wait… where these her hands? They didn't seem right…

She felt anxiety, fear, anticipation, courage, determination, all these feelings flooding into her as Kakashi himself prepared for a fight.

But Kakashi right now should be with… and the only person… oh…

Realization dawned upon her as she understood what she saw at the moment.

She was seeing through Naruto's eyes. She was feeling what he was feeling. In a way, a twisted and strange, blessed way, right now… they where one.

The mere thought of this made her lose concentration, the images of Naruto faltering away, darkness gripping her eyesight. She opened her eyes hurriedly, fearful of the sudden dark. She was once again standing before Kurenai-sensei, who seemed to stand there as if nothing had happened at all. It probably hadn't, not in the outside.

Now she had something new to think about too. Since when had her link with Naruto been so strong, that she could even connect to him like that? It felt so strange… and so good…

Returning to the matter at hand though, her teammates where counting on her. Though she knew she would probably fail, she still had to try, had she not?

She called upon the Light again and the holy power surged through her body, her hands bathed in circles of dancing golden purity, the light produced from her enough to illuminate the whole area.

Kurenai smiled as she gripped a kunai. This would be fun.

XxxxX

"So, Naruto, before this day ends, I have to test you on something." Kakashi spoke as he walked a few steps away from his student, gazing lazily up at the starry sky.

"Test me? What for?" the blonde asked, titling his head to the side. Kakashi turned to look at him now.

"In Konoha, while I have trained you in and watched you develop your ninja skills, I have never actually come to see what you are capable of with that sword and that Light of yours." He explained.

"Knowing the full length of your team's and its individuals' capabilities is a must if you ever want to make it work in combat. We were lucky with Zabuza, for he was just one opponent. If we are ever outnumbered, mere strength won't save us." He said and gripped a kunai from his pouch.

"Come to me Naruto with all you've got. And if you defeat me, I'll let you on a little secret…" he said with a smile and Naruto grinned widely… not the usual, lousy happy go lucky grin. He was serious as he gripped his sword and eyed the opponent up and down. There was no Kakashi-sensei there. He was the copy-nin Kakashi now, his opponent. One he had to bring down. Anything else didn't matter.

Kakashi noticed the look in Naruto's eye, and couldn't help but be proud. One thing he had drilled into the blonde was to _focus _on the objective. Think not of the consequences, only of the target and what had to be done. It was a definite _must,_ especially on solo missions. Letting other thoughts and troubles into your mind when you had to work undercover, sneak into enemy territory or deal with opponents on your own, it was a skill every ninja had to have.

Of course, it wasn't that useful when fighting alongside others. After all, defending your teammates and working with them was the whole purpose of forming squadrons.

Naruto unsheathed his sword, and both nin set themselves in combat stances.

Then the blonde froze for a moment, as something strange suddenly occurred…

No, he was still where he was, Kakashi was right in front of him, the Ashbringer was in his hands, his whole body was ready to pounce at any moment.

But something felt… strange. He felt… surprised, then… relieved… then happy. He felt really, _really _happy for some reason.

Then all these feelings suddenly dropped out, exactly like they came, one moment after the other. Feelings that weren't his, feelings that belonged to someone else. And for those few moments that he felt these feelings, he also had the faint idea of someone looking at him. No, looking _through _him, looking alongside him, as if his vision was shared with someone else.

What was going on? Who could possible intrude in his mind like that? The only people to ever reach into him like that where Tirion and as of late Hin…

Then everything made sense. Suddenly the whole world seemed to make sense. He could laugh at this. It seemed funny, after all.

Turning back at Kakashi, who seemed to be waiting for an attack, Naruto grinned as he ignited the Light within him, preparing for battle.

Oh this was going to be fun indeed.

XxxxX

"Tsk. Now you're a tough one." Hakai grunted as he saw the bloody mess on the ground gathering to form his opponent once again, who was still grinning widely, the whole freaking time of their battle.

"You have just found your worst nightmare, human… or shall I say, undead?" he said, gripping Coyote, the white gun gleaming in the moonlight. Hakai frowned at the man. His eyes where strange as they where, he knew that much, but how could he tell…?

"Your blood." Alucard chuckled "It smells like a human's. Yet, your pulse is so weak, and your blood has that rotting scent to it… not something I'd like for dinner." His chuckle broke into a maniacal laugh.

"Oh!! Its being so much time since I had this much fun! Come, warrior! Amuse me some more!!" he yelled and started shooting at the death knight, who glared solid ice at his opponent. Despite the fact that he liked chopping the bastard to bits and then being able to do so again numerous times, there was a limit to one's patience.

Hakai shot his hand forward, cold winds, ice and power flowing before him, freezing the projectiles mid-air and heading straight for Alucard. Hell, if he couldn't kill him physically, then his powers would at least immobilize him…

Strangely enough, the man didn't even _try _to dodge the attack. He merely stood there, grinning widely as ice enveloped his whole body, trapping him in a cask of frozen concrete.

Hakai loosened his stance as his opponent was now defeated. If his calculations where correct, he could break this little dome of ice to pieces now, and years from now the sun would finally melt his magical ice, letting this fool's body assimilate once more.

That was the price for facing him. That was the fate of all those that crossed the knights of Acherus.

He walked forward, preparing his sword for the final attack.

His eyes widened though, when the unexpected occurred…

The block of ice began shaking violently… and a dog's head with six crimson eyes, made of blood and shadow, charged at him with its mouth open, prepared to bite his head off.

Hakai used his momentum to land the strike on the dog instead of the ice dome, saving himself and cutting the beast to pieces.

The dome then exploded, and maniacal laughter filled the air…

The death knight watched in amusement as Alucard faced him fully, his eyes crazed with insanity, his voice filled with malice and amusement at the same time.

"This is so much fun! It's been so long since I cut loose… come, come! Show me your power! Show me everything!" he yelled, as his body deformed, his limbs fell off and…

Alucard began transforming as his whole body was covered in shadow, the heads of hounds began sprouting from his shoulders and eyes that would belong to the devil himself gazed upon the death knight from various parts of the man's body.

"Who… what are you…?" Hakai questioned as he prepared himself for serious combat. He would have to go all out against this one…

"My name is…" he rose his head.

"Alucard! Class S vampire lord, the no-life king!" he let out a maniacal laugh.

"Come then, undead, so me what you've got! Release your minions, transform your body, empower your soul! Anything, come at me with anything you have!" he urged with glee.

But this time… this time, it was Hakai's turn to smirk. He smirked so widely, that Alucard couldn't help thinking the man was getting in the same mood that he was right now. A mood for blood.

"You want everything, vampire? You want me to slaughter you with everything I've got?" he said as he poised his blade upwards, the tip pointing to the sky.

"Then…" energy filled his blade.

"I'm not one to disappoint, you know." He said and his smirk vanished, a serious expression setting on his features.

"**Army of the Dead"** as he spoke those words, energy cracked through his blade, unholy power surged into the ground…

And corpses began to rise from it. Ghouls, zombies, monstrosities, anything that one could consider vile and malformed, malicious and putrid, arose from the dirt and stood beside the death knight.

"My name is Hakai, knight of Acherus, servant of Lord Darion's will." He spoke as he lowered his blade, numerous undead waiting for his command right beside him.

"Our lord once decreed us to be monsters… and we are. We of the Ebon Blade strive in a single purpose… retribution." He tightened his fist.

"We harness our hatred… we make it useful." Unholy energy began gathering around his hands, the brown dirt and green grass around him took on a grey, deathly shade, the earth itself was becoming desecrated…

"We embark on our own dark crusade the moment we rise from the grave as death knights of Acherus. We are to destroy anything that would bring malice, anything that would threaten the world." He gripped his blade even harder.

"I have seen… what terrors had taken place in my Lord's homeland, how his world was annihilated by masses of mindless undead. And _he,_ that damned bastard is going to do the same here, to this world! My world!" he raged, his power rising to the point it was visible to the naked eye.

"I will destroy anything that threatens my homeland… vampires, demons, undead, humans, all are to be purged and slaughtered! I will not fail my Lord!" he shouted.

"I have my own crusade to accomplish…" and with this whispered phrase, the undead army around him rushed forward, screaming, gurgling, grunting, mindlessly attacking towards the appointed target.

Alucard grinned widely as he prepared himself, full of glee. This was indeed one of the _best _days in his long, so very long life.

XxxxX

Hinata was really trying her best to keep up with Kurenai, but her offensive use of the Light was nowhere near Naruto's! She stood a very small chance in this from the beginning, if not at all.

Her hammers where too slow to actually hit her teacher, and her defense was also a lot weaker since she had to rely solely on the Light's power to keep her safe. On other circumstances, she could use her katana to defend and the Light to attack, but now she had to switch from offense and defense on a moment's notice! And she couldn't even use Jyuuken when Kurenai came up close!

Grunting in her own weakness, the girl used her **'Sacred Shield' **to block another flurry of ranged weapons. She couldn't do much that way though. This shield was not meant to take on excessive amounts of damage, and there was a limit at how much she could use it. Thankfully, by absorbing the attacks, the amount of damage absorbed was also used to heal whatever small wounds she had. Without the itching, it was easier for her to concentrate whatsoever.

She had to trick Kurenai… and do so fast! An idea popped in her mind, but she would only have one shot in this… it was win-or-lose.

She just had to wait for the perfect moment. Without using jutsus or illusions, Kurenai _had_ to come close if she ever hopped to land a solid hit. Ranged weapon attacks never truly were efficient in ninja battles anyway. (Tenten didn't sneeze at that. She was preoccupied coughing and I didn't want to kill her from lack of oxygen. Yet.)

The jounin was beginning to rush towards her, prepared for a melee, and probably her final, assault.

Hinata stood ready as she waited for her sensei to approach, not moving from her spot. Kurenai had easily seen through this part… the girl was probably planning something. She would normally have changed her course and taken a different measure, but just for the hell of it, and because she was kind of curious what her little student had come up with, she continued with the attack.

Her hand outstretched as the gripped kunai went for the girl's throat.

But Kurenai's weapon made contact with something that seemed harder than solid steel itself, yet was so eerie and fragile looking that one could think the tip of a sharp rock could break it apart.

'**Divine Shield'** really was an astounding trick… and the bane of many PvPers (Go figure).

Hinata wasted no time as she summoned forth her Justice hanma, swinging to hit the jounin straight in the chest.

Kurenai, thanks to the proximity and her own surprise, didn't have time to dodge as the hammer found her straight in the chest. No pain filled her though as she felt her whole body paralyzing, all that was moveable being her eyes. She struggled in vain to free herself, but the effect was too strong…

Hinata stood over her teacher with another hammer made of pure golden light in hand, smiling sweetly down at Kurenai.

"The effects will wear off in a few seconds sensei, but I that's enough time to kill someone, right?" Hinata was too overjoyed with her accomplishment to actually notice she had mentioned killing. Kurenai too was bewildered that her shy student would come to show such happiness openly herself.

Finally, just as Hinata said, the effects of Hammer of Justice wore off and the jounin was able to move again. She sighed as she sat up, smiling at Hinata.

"You did very well today. Tomorrow we'll have another spar, this time though a taijutsu one. Kiba and Shino will join in too." She said with an evil smirk as she turned towards the boys, who where now struggling to even go up a few feet on the tree. Damn they where tired.

And damn was she going to give them hell tomorrow. Oh, the joy of being a teacher!

"You two! Gather up! It's time for sleep!" she yelled and Kiba was suddenly flying towards the direction of the house, heading directly for bed before she decided to change her mind. Shino was less enthusiastic about it, even though he was visible drained himself.

Hinata smiled, wiping some sweat off her brow. It was an interesting day… she did feel tired, but there was something bugging her in the back of her mind, something silently screaming at her of something dangerous. She dismissed it as angst from her first mission. They where facing a dangerous opponent, after all…

She absentmindedly wondered what Naruto was doing at the moment, and if she could contact him again the way she did before. She would have to check that one out.

XxxxX

Naruto had no hard time dodging Kakashi's attacks. The man wasn't taking him seriously to begin with. And that agitated him to no end, being underestimated like that.

He _needed _his ninja skill to avoid him. Despite his slacking in speed, his precision was deadly. One strike and the blonde would be down on the ground. And worse thing was that using the Ashbringer wasn't an option here, since it would slow his reactions greatly. But that didn't mean the boy was in no position to retaliate… not at all.

He began a series of hand-seals…

Before Kakashi slammed an elbow in his stomach, before he could even blink, sending him flying in the bushes.

"No jutsus. You are only allowed to use your Light techniques." He spoke, waiting for the blonde to emerge. He waited… and waited…

But nothing came. Sighing, the jounin decided to move in, in order to either rescue a fallen Naruto or fall straight into his trap, then wiggle his way around it.

Problem was, the moment Kakashi stepped through the bushes, with a little effort, what came to meet his gaze was… another bush? Looking on the sides, he noticed narrow paths trailing down the distance, then taking turns.

Greaaaat. They had both just entered one of the labyrinths that existed in the house's courtyard. Just perfect.

Well, he could also just take a step behind and get out of here, not complicating things. And he did just that. His hounds would help find the probably lost blonde anyway.

Kakashi stepped through the bushes behind him again… and found himself before another wall of said plant.

'_What the hell… I'm sure I took the right turn.' _He wasn't going senile yet, that much he knew. Just to be sure though, he went through the bushes he came from again and stepped forward to the other side too. Thankfully they weren't thick.

But nothing. All his eyes where meeting where walls of bushes, two times his height.

'_This is ridiculous...' _he thought dryly, biting his thump and summoning Pakkun.

"Kakashi?" the dog questioned as it munched on a bone larger than itself. The man smiled at the little companion.

"You stay right here." He said, pointing to the ground and stepping into the bushes backwards, not daring to tear his eyes off the dog who munched happily on his meal until there wasn't any other choice.

When the plants obstructed his view of Pakkun, the man took a breath and stepped through them as well.

Pakkun was nowhere to be seen.

XxxxX

Damn it, losing his balance and concentration at such a moment! He had tried to trick Kakashi into thinking that he was casting a jutsu when he was simply going around random seals, yet the jounin was so fast that he hadn't even seen it coming!

But this wasn't the end, not by a long shot. Finally grabbing his sword, Naruto launched forward through the bushes, ready to take on his sensei on a whole new scale.

Surprise overtook him though, as what came before him after 'exiting' the wall of plants via a well placed strike of the sword, was _another _wall of said plants.

Bewildered, Naruto blinked to make sure he was seeing right. Was Kakashi playing tricks on him? No, he felt no disturbance in his chakra and as the man had taught him, illusions usually stroke at the brain, deluding the senses.

Yet even through the Light he could feel nothing. There was _no _illusion here.

He charged forward again, testing. Cutting through the wall before him as well, he was less surprised, more likely annoyed though, that another damn wall was towering there, mocking him.

Now quite pissed off, Naruto prepared to cut through as many of these damn plants was necessary to get out of here.

XxxxX

Something _very _weird was going on. Even with his Sharingan the jounin couldn't trace any chakra, no one was using a jutsu in a sensing radius and there was no illusion on him. If there was, then it had to be at least an S rank for his eye to not be able to see. Which was very unlikely. Only Itachi Uchiha, Madara Uchiha and a few others around the globe where known to posses enough skill for an S rank illusion. Kurenai herself had a small arsenal of As, which was a grand accomplishment considering she had no bloodline to back her up. Her red eyes where known to be natural.

There was something more complicate than illusions going on here. Yet, maybe it was something so simple, that he couldn't help ignoring it.

Sighing, the man sat down to brainstorm the situation. Every time he went through a wall of bushes, another came up, and that continued endlessly, no matter how many times he went forward in the same direction.

Maybe he should try the more way of solving this mystery, and that was…

He glance to his left…

Try and work his way out of this place.

XxxxX

Panting, huffing, and dead tired, Naruto glared at the wall that was still _fucking _mocking him, like a grown up would hold candy before a baby and yet not give it to said infant no matter how much it cried.

Which was quite pitiful, if you see the comparison.

Then Naruto's mind gave him, miraculously, a quite interesting idea.

And that was the majestic use of Shadow Clones!

Who said the arts of the Light are the only way around a problem? Sometimes, you may have had to turn to towards something darker…

Metaphorically, of course.

Crossing the middle and pointer fingers of both hands into a cross-shape, a very unique shape one can say, for the particular seal is used in a very few select jutsus, Naruto summoned forth a small group of clones.

"You three to the left, and you three to the right. Find a way out of here and dispel if you come in a dead end! Am I clear?" the clones all nodded with a grin as they rushed forth in the ordered direction. Naruto simply sat down and waited. Rushing around along with his copies wouldn't be that fruitful, not here.

A couple of minutes passed before the first clone dispelled. He was one of the left clones. Having taken a right, then left then right again turn, the copy had reached the annoying obstacle of a dead end.

Not ten minutes passed before all the clones where finished, all of them having taken completely different and completely random intervals, only to reach nothing.

'_This is stupid…' _Naruto thought with a frown as he crossed his fingers again.

With a large puff of smoke, the whole hallway of plants was taken over by white dressed blondes…

XxxxX

Kakashi _though _he heard something. It sounded like Naruto, and it sounded like he was screaming bloody murder to someone. Strange.

After a good quarter of the hour of walking around aimlessly and crossing countless dead ends, the jounin was ready to give up on this stupid situation. And what was far weirder?

With his Sharingan active, he could remember _every _inch of this labyrinth from head to toe (if you can say it has any), every turn he took he remembered and every dead end he crossed he remembered too.

And that was what was weird here. _Every _time he took a random turn he found himself in a completely unfamiliar path, or sometimes the same path that miraculously led somewhere else that where it was supposed to.

Needless to say, he was _lost._

XxxxX

And even the battalion of clones had failed, since all of them had managed next to nothing. If he didn't know any better, this place should be at least the size of Konoha in order to be this complicate!

It couldn't be manmade… the one who made it had placed everything so randomly that there was no pattern, there was no way to figure it out. Hell, Naruto was sure its creator was trapped to death here himself!

'_There, there, little fella. I'm sure that with some work, you'll find what you seek.' _Naruto nearly jumped ten feet in the air as the eerie voice sipped into his mind. Who, what, where, when??

'_Over here.' _He heard the voice, as if it was answering his own question. Instinctively, Naruto somehow knew where that 'here' meant, so his eyes made a beeline for the approximate area the target should be. He gripped the Ashbringer tightly, too scared to realize he hadn't even ignited it.

'_No need to be terrorized by a sweet, cute friendly… ghost like me, now is there?' _sweat run down his neck and his whole body was burning as he watched every damn corner, all the while checking the direction the voice was coming from. It sounded like it came from everywhere!

"Who… who are you?!" he yelled, not sure if it was in fear or if he simply wanted the phantasm to hear him.

A forlorn chuckle drifted in the air, making chills run down his spine.

'_Well, Naruto…' _the voice sounded somewhat more solid now…

And out of the corner walked the _last _thing the blonde would ever expect to pop out. Some creepy monster, a bloodthirsty undead, a rampaging warrior or a vengeful spirit, hell even an old man!

But…

"You don't recognize me?" It said in Hinata's sweet voice and body, blushing slightly at him. Naruto stood agape, the Ashbringer nearly falling from his hands as Hinata smiled back at his perplexed expression.

"H-Hinata, but how, why, wha…" he didn't finish his sentence as she approached, almost bouncing at his direction. She giggled, inching closer to his face…

"Naruto-kun…" her tone was so sweet, her eyes so mesmerizing and innocent…

"Can you do me a favor?" too stunned to trust his voice at her proximity, Naruto dumbly nodded. Her smile turned into a small grin as her face was now a mere inch away from his.

"Can you just…" she slowly closed the distance between them, as her lips touched his in a gentle kiss. Naruto thought his legs would give away any moment now.

"Die?" he didn't feel anything for a moment, even as he heard the sound of something piercing flesh. He slowly glanced downwards, fearful of what he would see…

And surely enough, Hinata was gripping a dagger, hilt-deep into his chest, blood gushing out and splattering on both their clothes, bathing her hand in the crimson liquid… his blood…

"Oh my…" she said as if surprised. Unlikely before, Naruto now couldn't find his voice from sear surprise, and the fact that his whole body was beginning to feel numb and cold.

She brought the bloodied hand upwards to her mouth, licking some off. She giggled, as his eyes grew wider and wider.

"H… Hinata… w-why…?" he managed to splutter as his knees gave way. She smiled at him, reaching down to give him another kiss.

"Relax, Naruto-kun. It'll all be over soon." She said and stood, turning away with a skip in her step, humming a random melody.

"Bye-bye." She snickered, vanishing away in a corner as Naruto could do little to nothing as he bled to his death.

'_The Light… I must… call… the Light…' _even his mind felt numb, almost too numb to even form the necessary incantation for the spell. Dizziness was winning over, darkness was edging on him…

And all he could think about as he slipped into the abyss, was Hinata's smiling face as she killed him…

A sinister chuckle emerged from the depths of his being…

XxxxX

**A/N: Aaand, that's +1 PvP for Hinata. Or… well, she either turned evil and decided to slaughter everyone close to her in hopes of unlocking an unknown level of the Byakugan, or the author is plain crazy and likes seeing blood everywhere.**

**Maybe both.**

**Oh well, on with the Omake!**

_**Omake: The Feast of Winter Veil**_

_**Christmas Special**_

Gently falling snowflakes, smoke rising from poor crafter chimneys, children laughing in the street as they played war in the cold dark snow of the night, headless corpses walking around and distributing candy…

Indeed, a wonderful night.

_**In the Hyuuga Compound…**_

"Hinata! We're going to be late!" Neji shouted over his shoulder, slipping on his shoes. The pitter patter of footsteps soon echoed behind him as his cousin hurriedly got on the genkan and managed to wear her own footwear without falling as she stumbled on one foot. Not very lady like.

"Mo, nii-san! You should have informed me of this occasion sooner!" she pouted, trying to tidy her hair.

"Don't worry, you're perfect. I'm sure he'll die on the spot."

"Hey!"

"Joke, joke…"

XxxxX

_**In the outskirts of Konoha…**_

"Think they'll be happy to see us?" he wasn't so sure about this… he would prefer playing chess with a ghoul rather than come to a place with so many _humans _around. The fact that the ghoul always lost was an add.

"Of course they'll be happy dear! We're they're allies, remember?" said a female voice beside him, nearly purring as she snuggled as close as possible without messing her dress or her feet.

"Still, it's the first time undead _visitors _step into Konoha." He sighed. Night elves where rare around these parts too. Hell…

"You'll be fine! Well, except for your eyes and that pale color of yours, they'll think you're a normal human!" she tried to reassure him, stroking his cheek. Darion grunted.

"They better be. I have little patience for foolishness." He glared forward as now the gates where visible before them, grant and tall as they where with the symbol of the Leaf hovering in the centre. Show offs…

"I know dear. Like that time you killed a goblin for not lowering his price on winter shoes." She giggled.

"Well, we did get the shoes, did we not?" he smirked at the memory. Shella giggled beside him.

"Oh ho ho, we've found ourselves quite the acquaintances, Seras." Alucard's voice rang in the forest around them as the vampire appeared through the shadows, grinning widely at the two. Seras didn't take long to appear beside him as well.

"Alucard…" Darion acknowledged as he nodded to the vampire and then glanced at what could be considered his mate, if he was correct.

"Very." The tall man clad in red answered the death knight's thoughts, earning a glare from the warrior. He didn't like having his mind read…

"Pleasantries aside, I fail to understand why would the two of you dress up in Winter Veil clothing…" Darion looked both of the vampires from head to toe, as Alucard grinned widely and Seras blushed, mumbling something under her breath.

Alucard made for the exact _opposite _of Santa Claus, tall and muscular as he was. Well, if you put that blood thirsty smirk he usually had aside too and maybe ignore that glint in his eye that said he wanted to eat you… yeah…

Victoria herself was dressed quite lightly, revealing a rather too voluptuous body in her red winter's clothing, as the chest-wear split at the collarbone and at her stomach, revealing a some cleavage and her abdomen, while a pair of red Santa's shorts adored her legs. Darion was sure lots of humans would on this day be entranced by this little devil…

And all of them would die form the bigger devil next to her, probably because he needed a reason to kill.

"Darion, dear, I think we should move in. The party will start in a few minutes." Shella informed from beside him and he glared at the vampires (ok, only Alucard), before moving past them and into Konoha.

"Alucard… shouldn't we go as well?" Seras asked softly and Alucard nodded.

"Indeed. Blood and honor await us!" he shouted randomly.

"You'd only take the blood, I'm sure." She mumbled.

XxxxX

_**In the streets of Konoha…**_

"Lipstick?" Ino asked as she looked down a _long _list of items, she and Sakura walking down a snowy path dressed in their individual dressed, one being purple and one being red, both cut on the thigh and open in the back. Thankfully, they had coats too.

"Check." Sakura answered, checking her bag.

"Eye-shadow?"

"Check."

"Gum?"

"Check"

"Poison?"

"Yep."

"Grenades?"

"All here."

"The Sasuke-I-love-You letter?"

"Safe and sound."

"And… condoms?"

Sakura paused, checking her purse twice for said intercourse protection item. Her green emerald eyes became the size of saucers as she realized…

"Oh… my… God…" Ino spoke in realization.

"YOU FORGOT THE CONDOM?!!"

"OH MY GOD! I FORGOT THE CONDOM!!" Sakura screamed as well, crying her eyes out at the crime she had committed upon herself.

"HOW COULD YOU FORGET THE CONDOM?!!" Ino yelled again.

"I DON'T KNOW! THE CONDOM WAS SUPPOSED TO BE HERE!" Sakura retorted.

"WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO IF SOMETHING HAPPENS AND YOU HAVE NO CONDOM!!" Ino was gripping her hair.

"IT'S A CONDOM TRAGEDY!"

"Shut the hell up and go buy a fucking condom already!" yelled a random old man from a window in his pajamas, glaring death at the two condom-banshees.

As he slammed the window closed, Sakura and Ino both looked at each other, before shrugging, closing their purses and heading towards the closest convenience store to buy the some condoms.

XxxxX

Naruto shivered, as did Sasuke from next to him.

"I feel a disturbance…" the blonde muttered.

"And condoms?" Sasuke added and Naruto nodded.

XxxxX

Jiraiya run around the streets, searching for the condom-duo, eager to provide them with same merchandise and willing to offer his body for a test drive, just to see if they worked right…

XxxxX

Tsunade was gripping her forehead as she prepared for the beginning of the party. Lee had gone ahead and placed a _very _large postern right in front of the tower writing:

**IT'S YOUTHFUL PARTY TIME!**

God she would strangle him.

XxxxX

"What time is it?!" Gai yelled in his black tuxedo latex suit, one he held for very special occasions. Lee was similarly dressed as well.

"It's time to let our flames of youth scatter in the darkness!" he answered… um, youthfully.

"What time is it?!"

"It's time for us to move forward and youthfully embrace this celebration!!"

"What time is it?!!!"

"It's time to set everything aside and…" he did a pirouette… "hold onto the glory of winter!

"WHAT TIME IS IT?!" Gai screamed again, glaring at his student.

"It's time… oh, a quarter past seven! We're going to be late sensei!" Lee said cheerfully, oblivious to his teacher's glare as they both marched to the place the festivity was going to be held. Truly, he did love his student's passion, but there where… times, that he grew wary of it.

He was proud nonetheless. He had answered right after four questions. It took a hundred and twenty-one the two last times.

XxxxX

"We have all gathered here today… ahem, Kiba, put the food down please. No Naruto we won't be having ramen. Yes, Sasuke, you can have your own vengeful speech later. Sakura, don't grope the Uchiha, Hinata don't salivate next to Naruto and FOR GOD'S SAKE LET ME FUCKING SPEAK!!" the Hokage roared over the crowd who quite obliviously was totally ignoring her a second ago.

She cleared her throat.

"We have all gathered here today to…" "deliver vengeance upon the greatest thief of all time known as Santa Claus?" Sasuke intervened, making a vein pop on the woman's forehead.

"Shut up teme! If anyone is going to deliver justice on that imbecile it will be me!" Naruto yelled, gripping his sword out of nowhere.

"Oh yeah? I'd like to see you do that!" the Uchiha retorted, grabbing a random legendary sword (Go figure) and starting to battle with the blonde on top of the Hokage tower.

Tsunade sighed. There was no point in arguing with idiots.

"As I was saying, we will celebrate the coming of this winter and the end of the year with hope in our hearts and wishes for a brighter future! Together we shall stand and…"

"Do we get to kill anyone?" Richard asked out of nowhere, stepping on the platform and standing next to the Hokage with a gleeful smile on his hidden face.

Tsunade frowned at him "No, Christmas is supposed to be a celebration where…"

"Can I decimate the one's that aren't Christian then?" he asked hopefully again.

"But there are…"

"Oh come on! At least tell me you brought ponies!" he grunted as Tsunade simply shook her head. Richard stood still for a moment.

"Screw you guys, I'm going home." He said, walking away.

"Finally. Now, as I was saying Christmas is…" and Tsunade went on and on with her speech as people around her rummaged about their business, ignoring her words completely.

Seras was standing in a _very_ tempting manner on one corner, smiling sweetly and sexily at every male within view range. Needless to say, they where _all _salivating like wolfs that hadn't eaten for days.

Yet they couldn't approach as a _very_ evil looking Santa stood on the wall above her, grinning wickedly with eyes flashing red in the darkness, daring anyone to come close.

Someone couldn't handle it and was jerking off under a table.

"Oi, Himata, youb godda cheb dis one out!" Kiba said with his mouth full of food, handing Hinata a chicken wing meat. The girl had to move to dodge the flying food that came from his mouth as he spoke.

"A-arigato…" she said as Kiba went over to some random hottie "Hey bere!" she wasn't as kind as the young Hyuuga, so she flat out slapped him. His eyes still looked like hearts.

Naruto and Sasuke where battling on top of the tower… or so it seemed from the numerous flashes of lights, extremely loud explosions and clashes of swords.

Sasuke sipped on his tea "This movie rocks." He said with a smile, shifting to get more comfortable in the large puffy chair he sat in. Naruto, sitting in an identical furniture next to him, nodded.

"I think the actor sucks a little though. Woah!" another loud explosion came, so loud that they grinned from the force of air. Sasuke's tea miraculously didn't splatter.

"Hey, check this out…" Naruto said, grabbing a cookie and holding it before his face, waiting… another explosion of sound came and Naruto set the cookie free, the force making it fly straight into his mouth.

"Kewl!!(Cool)" Sasuke said, amazed, setting his tea before him and waiting for his own turn.

They both laughed, keeping up with the stupidity of the moment.

"… and that concludes this year's speech." Tsunade let out a breath of relief, even though she knew everyone was raging around here without giving a damn about her words. They all came for the food anyways. And for Seras.

"SILENCE!!!" she screamed so loudly that Naruto's next cookie flew away, Hell, even the plasma TV and the whole sound system broke down.

"The countdown for New Year's begins in…" she said, pointing at the large clock that was set on the tower just for the occasion.

"10!" Lee shouted energetically.

"9!" The others followed.

"8!" Sakura had finally found a condom and made it on time.

"7!" Naruto somehow managed to come down in a flash and kiss Hinata in the middle of the crowd… nobody gave a damn. They weren't NaruHina fans yet (muahahah!)

"6!" Sasuke proposed to Sakura and she cried as she accepted. The author didn't mention the promised wild sex because of the decency… oh wait, he already did.

"5!" Naruto was still making out with Hinata who had completely forgotten about the chicken wing as it dropped from her hand. Kiba was there to catch it as he flew by. Chouji would be proud.

"4!" Darion wished he could freeze time…

"3!" Alucard was standing right behind Seras, something _hard _aching on her ass as the vampire hugged her. The humans weren't the only ones aroused… that meant the night would be long =D

"2!" Mr. T pitied the fool.

"1!!!" and as the final second ticked, the whole world went boom and everyone died.

Nah, just kidding.

"_**HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!!!"**_

"_**Wish there was Hinata ramen… maybe I can invent one!"**_


	21. Chapter 21: The day the Fire met the Ice

**A/N: So it's getting really late down here and I'm pretty tired myself. Most of you may be wondering about my absence and I have to say, it really was about time I put myself back to work. It wasn't easy, what with my school and other activities I had to partake in, but please, do enjoy the chapter which I hope will live up to your expectations.**** Expect me to update sooner, if only with smaller chapters.**

_**The Ashbringer: Shinobi of the Light**_

_**Chapter 21: The Day the Fire met the Ice**_

It was one of the most agitating nights Kakashi had to push over in his entire life. What of the endless enemies he had defeated thanks to his copy eye or Raikiri, what of the countless adventures he had endured as a shinobi, all of them proved to be in vain against this single foe.

A plant.

A God damn plant.

There where very few ninja around the world that could actually use plants to fight. It was something akin to a bloodline, one that gave the user dominance over certain aspects of nature. In the ranks of these few nin was the Shodaime, a man that could manipulate wood in any form and shape. It was a marvelous ability to rely to.

But it was also a troublesome one to fight against.

Wondering around this maze had proven to be of no avail, since the jounin found no openings, no route of salvation. And finally, yes, finally, something different had occurred.

Rin had popped out of nowhere, grinning and smiling at him, several attempts to seduce him being made as she approached with a sway in her hips and a glimmer in her eyes.

That was the moment Kakashi had shot a few kunai through her head and throat, resulting to the woman being reduced to countless vines and leafs. Whomever made this stupid illusion probably had no knowledge of his past…

But it was also a grave mistake whatsoever, for the enemy at least. The moment the vines touched the ground, they began retreating, running away. Kakashi had used these retreating appendages to track down the chakra trail they left behind.

And here he was after minutes of plant hunting, finally having found his target.

Truthfully? It was an ugly plant.

Large and red, with several long and fidgeting lashes, what one could consider a flower now looked ready to bite his head off. One point for nature it is.

Kakashi had wasted no time being stunned by surprise as he leapt away from the oncoming lashes, which slammed on the ground he was mere moments ago. The jounin was amazed at the dent they left on the earth…

More lashes came after him, some trying to slam him to death, others going for a piercing blow. Kakashi had quite the hard time avoiding them all as he sidestepped, ducked and jumped away from several attacks. His sharingan was the only reason he was still unharmed, but that too was pushing it far as them an had already been using it for some time already. He wouldn't have the luxury of his special eye for long.

"What the hell is this thing…?" he mumbled to himself, standing still on his spot. Another lash smashed right next to him, Kakashi freezing in place from sheer amazement. Not moving from his spot, he waited to dodge the next attack…

Yet it never came. As he stood and kept a frantic eye on every God damn lash of this thing (And they were many, mind you), no attack came again for a whole minute, as if the plant had stopped registering his presence.

'_Why would it stop…?'_ Kakashi relaxed his muscles, only a tiny bit, still looking at the gruesome man-eating monster with a bit of fear. Always fear your enemy. He's the one that can end your life. Not having fear for something or someone leads to underestimation, and this miscalculation often leads to the valley of death.

Kakashi wasn't ready for that journey yet. He had many Icha Icha books to read still.

As he rolled his options over in his head, his foot unconsciously moved a tiny bit…

That was when one of the large lashes came crushing upon him. The man had no time to dodge the sudden attack…

The appendage came crushing down on him…

XxxxX

…

Dripping… he could hear the faint sound of dripping…

…

Water…? Was it water…?

…

Maybe he was dead… and this was paradise… it felt excessively warm in this place…

…

More dripping. A low growl. Did water growl…? No… it did not…

Slowly opening his eyes, his vision blurry and unsteady, Naruto forced himself to focus on what was before him instead of the itching pain in his chest. Why did his chest hurt…?

Oh right… Hinata… she had killed him.

But if that was the case and he was indeed dead, he idly wondered if paradise, or hell whatsoever, was ever described to be looking like a sewer.

A chuckle echoed in his mind… it was dark, heavy, like air itself gained weight as the sound passed through it. He did feel heavy, truth be told.

"**Killed…? You think that, I would allow my container to be so pitifully killed?" **he knew this voice, a voice filled with hatred and malice, an undertone that spoke of pain, a twist in it that spoke of blood…

"**Becoming more perceptive when on the verge of oblivion, Naruto?" **that mind curling chuckle again…

"**Come to me, foolish little mortal." **It wasn't an irony, it wasn't an insult. It was a statement. The voice didn't think he was inferior. The voice _knew _it.

Was his body even there? He didn't feel it whatsoever. Yet his vision trembled with each step he took, he felt pain shooting through his being with every muscle that budged. It was painful, but he kept moving…

Finally, after what seemed to be whole years, Naruto reached where the voice had called him to, where it wanted him to be. He tried gripping a wall for support, as numbness took over his feet, forcing him to the wet ground. Had he touched the wall? He didn't know… he felt too cold to make out the difference between his skin and the concrete.

"**Ahh… that is the feeling of dying, Naruto. Is it cold? Is it painful? Marvel in it, boy. Savor this last feelings ****as your very soul dies along with your body." **He knew that voice… in the haze that was his mind, he recognized it as the Kyuubi, the demon that resided within his body, trapped within the Shiki Fuuin seal…

"I… can't… die…" was this his own voice? His own words? He felt no pressure in his neck as he spoke, no vocal cords struggling to form phrases. Was something playing tricks on him…?

"**You, are only mortal." **Again, that superiority. But he found nothing in him that cared though. He didn't remember what that word was supposed to mean anymore.

"**Excellent…" **the monster seemed to purring at some good news, glad, happy of something. Naruto forced his gaze upwards, to where he knew the fox's face was supposed to be. How he knew…? He didn't remember.

"You… I'll… take you… with me…" now he did feel the pressure, and the pain, as he forced his throat to form the words, his lips to move and his brow to narrow. But nothing seemed to be phasing the wide grin that had spread on the demon's fanged face. That grin was evil… overwhelming…

"**Where is your precious Light now, Naruto? Where is the pride and strength of your heart? The will of your mind? The force of your strength? Nowhere… it was all lost the moment you decided to allow yourself in the hands of this…" **he snickered, as if it was a joke to even speak of it

"**This power! You think the Light would grant you power? That it would make you strong enough?" **sneering, the demon came down to meet the blonde in the eye, his crimson gaze weighing down upon Naruto with all its force.

"**Accept me, Naruto, and you'll have power beyond what the Light could ever give you…" **it spoke. It felt tempting, it felt… like he wanted it. His whole body screamed at him to accept it, to take it all…

"**Yes… give in, paladin… give in to the darkness!" **that comforting, shielding darkness… it felt so warm… so welcoming…

Naruto's hand reached over, as red chakra leaked out of the cage, straight to his form…

XxxxX

There where times like this that Kakashi hated being right. Many people did the same thing when they got pushed to their limits. The jounin of course was far from his limit, but doing nothing but weaving around heavy, and probably deadly, lashes was such an irritating course of movement, doubled by his inability to actually attack back.

It didn't take long to figure out the plant's attack pattern either. It was fairly simple, really. All it did was sense the disturbances Kakashi's form caused whenever he touched the ground, the vibrations, albeit tiny, being enough to give away his location.

So he had no time to form a nice katon jutsu and burn this thing to hell. You can't form seals when you have to dodge with every fiber of your body.

Kakashi's eye focused as his mind travelled miles per second. He was the only one here, so all the lashes where focused on him, his vibrations where the only ones caused in the immediate area, so the plant in return was focused on him…

He nearly grinned as the simplest of things, which he wondered why he hadn't done so earlier, came to mind. Need more vibrations? Then why don't give yourself a hand?

"Kage bunshin no jutsu." He spoke as he crossed his arms in a seal, forming three copies of himself in that brief moment he was airborne.

All four Kakashi's landed on the ground at the same time and needless to say, the plant was confused.

It was very likely that this particular enemy could make out one vibration from the other. That would explain why it couldn't be tricked by falling rocks or maybe a leaf or two, and start attacking randomly for no apparent reason. It had made out already Kakashi's vibration pattern, so it knew where_ he_ would be.

But now that there where four vibrations of the same wave going through the ground, the plant was confused.

It was all Kakashi needed.

Forming seals rapidly, thankful that the Gokakyou had few to begin with…

"**Katon: Gokakkyou no jutsu!" **and he exhaled a torrent of fire that washed over the rampages lashes, burning them to ashes and engulfing the massive monstrosity in flames.

Well… that was quick.

XxxxX

Something was boiling within him… something was churning and turning, twisting and expanding as he was gripped away from the void of his mind. The world was slowly returning to him, his senses where tracing back on the material world, grasping every inch of it, the sounds, the smells, the touch… everything was so clear, so pristinely clear it almost scared him.

Naruto slowly opened his eyes to peer at… nothing. He was just laying there in the middle of their clients' garden, blood sprouted around him… blood… it smelled like his blood.

He shouldn't be able to smell blood, let alone recognize it. He shouldn't be able to see that far into the distance, and that clearly to add to it. He shouldn't be aware of every damn little sound that was made by insects or his own movements around him.

His senses never were that sharp.

"**It feels good… doesn't it?" **that voice… it didn't scare him, neither did it sooth him though. It was the voice of the demon. The demon within him.

Naruto sat up, slowly straightening his body in a standing position, surprised that he didn't wobble an inch. There was dried blood on the grass and on his jacket, but no pain was touching him. The exact opposite, he had never felt so healthy… so… alive.

Looking down at his hands, he realized they had turned into deadly sharp claws, hell, he even prickled himself by accident. There was something strange about them… something…

It didn't take much for his enhanced sight to see the faint red outline of chakra that covered his hands, his wrists, his whole body. It was like a thin cloak of chakra had surrounded him, shimmering and moving along with him.

"**Come on… try it out…"** he heard the dark voice urging, and Naruto nodded without thinking, still marveling in this new feeling.

Deciding to check his vitality first, Naruto prepared to make a sprint for the other end of the garden.

And his feet took off so fast he nearly fell backwards, not used to the immense power. Grabbing a hold of himself and concentrating on the self-implanted task, Naruto focused his mind into the run.

All these happened in the span of three seconds. It was all it took him to reach the other end of the massive garden in the blazing speed he moved in.

It was… magnificent, this power, this speed, this… _feeling. _He felt like he could conquer the world.

The Kyuubi laughed within his mind, amused.

"**You haven't taken up even a 1/9 of my power, boy. Don't be overconfident." **It chuckled at the deflated look Naruto's face took over.

"Wha, you mean there's more to it?" he asked, noticing the unusual term of calculation the demon used.

"**Of course there is, foolish little human. Right now, I've simply granted you a tiny friction of my chakra to keep you alive from that stupid wound. You haven't even summoned one of my nine tails." **Naruto was in no illusions that the demon held any love for him whatsoever. There had to be catch in this power.

The Kyuubi smirked, and Naruto could practically feel it **"Oh, ain't you a smart one? Indeed, with power, there comes a price, kojou."** The demon chuckled again in some self-amusing contemplation

"**I've given you this power for you to see and understand what you can win… or lose, depending on your choice." **Naruto looked down at his clawed hands once more. What would he lose…?

"**My powers, demonic as they are, would fail to work with that Light of yours. All I want you to do, boy, is to drop that pathetic excuse of strength that Paladin taught you of and turn your eyes towards where true power lies!" **Naruto's eyes widened at the demon's suggestion. Turn back on the Light? Turn back on Tirion's teachings? On everything the man had sacrificed and worked hard for… for his sake?

'… _no power comes without a price, Naruto.' _Tirion had once told him. You couldn't get something without giving away something else. You couldn't win without losing. The wagers changed. The fact did not.

'_It is our duty, and honor, to protect our homes from the flames.' _Tirion had passed through many trials to become the man, the fighter, the warrior, he was. The Paladin he had become.

'_Evil will try and taint you, darkness will come to grasp you. If you stare into the abyss, rest assured, it will stare back at you my boy.__' _The man had warned him, once that Naruto had actually done something bad… he didn't remember exactly what that was, but the lesson still lay burned in his mind. Tirion had warned him about how one can fall from virtue, how many noble warriors, how many righteous paladins had fallen over the alluring taint of the Scourge, how they had forsaken the Light and turned into beings of darkness… how they lost everything, for power.

'_The power of the Light knows no bounds. The only boundaries, is what you put upon yourself. Open your heart, steel your mind, and rest assured, the Light will be there for you.' _

"**BAH! You actually believed all that bullshit the paladin told you? You actually think the 'oh-so-mighty' Light will be there to save you every damn minute of your life?" **the demon barked in his mind, cutting away all reminisce, letting him focus on the choice at hand.

"**Where was your precious Light when you where bleeding to death? Where was the all-mighty force of reckoning when Azeroth, Tirion's homeland, was reduced to ashes? Nowhere! Everyone was slaughtered, and for what? For the Light! They let their minds and souls be turned into mindless undead, for the Light! They sacrificed everything they had, their own being, for the Light!" **mock, anger, venom dripped from the Kyuubi's tongue as he shouted his reasons at the blonde, who kept heading them without retort.

"**Azeroth trusted in the Light… and met its doom. Will you allow the same to happen here, kojou? Will you let them destroy everything here as they did there?" **its tone became quieter, but no less imposing. Naruto's eyes widened for a brief moment.

"Who…?" he asked, his stomach clenching as he awaited the answer. Who would want to destroy his home? He didn't have that kind of enemies… but… Ho did. Enemies lied everywhere. This was a world of ninjas. A world of deception, of lies, of killing and death.

"**This world… will meet its doom by its own hand… rest assured, kojou… I only hope that you'll be here to see it. That way… you might understand… the folly of your ways…" **the demon's voice became weaker as it was reduced to faint whispers, retreating back into his mind. Naruto felt the power leaving, absorbed within him as well, his claws becoming normal human hands once again.

And suddenly, he felt very weak too.

Without the immense strength of the demonic chakra to enhance him, Naruto fell to his knees, breathing hard, his chest aching where he had been stabbed before.

A bargain, huh… did Kyuubi honestly think he would drop all these years of hard work and sweat for instant demonic power? Did it really believe that Naruto would betray one of the very few people he ever trusted, all for power?

No… he would never do that.

Would he…?

"Ah, there you are!" he heard a voice from behind him and turned around quickly enough to…

Miyako nearly bumped into him, and he stumbled in an attempt to avoid impact, resulting to his wobbly feet to betray him and let him fall on the ground. Face first.

"Oh my God, Naruto-san! Are you okay?" did he look okay? No, he did not. So he wasn't okay.

He hated stupid questions.

The fact that he spoke them too at times was a different matter entirely.

A muffled grunt was the answer to her question, as he tried to sit up, finding even the muscles in his hands to ache horribly with each attempt at movement. He barely made it to a sitting position, trying to relax his suddenly tired body. Being resurrected like that probably was no easy thing, even for a demon.

And it sure took a toll on his body. A grimtoll. (xP)

Naruto tried to call upon the Light, invoking its healing powers as he forced himself to mumble the chanting for the right spell.

But nothing happened.

Naruto's eyes closed in concentration as he pulled himself together, crouching on the ground and chanting the spell again, this time adding extra words that would help the invocation.

Still, nothing happened.

The young Paladin gazed at his hands with wonder, seeing nothing of the familiar glow of power that came with the Light. Something felt terribly off…

And then it hit him. He felt nothing, absolutely nothing, like his connection with the power was severed by something, like a net cut in one place and then being ripped piece by piece, not able to withhold its contents anymore.

He felt like that net.

A low chuckle erupted from within him…

"**Foolish little human… you think the Light would obey you after you've made a pact with my demonic powers? Hilarious!" **the demon began laughing within his mind, laughing hard, mocking him. Naruto glared at nothing in particular, Miyako worriedly checking him over for injuries, bewildered by his strange behavior.

Naruto gritted his teeth, chanting the spell again and again, putting the force of his whole soul in the incantation, pleading with all the power of his heart.

And it came. Like a surge of warmth and protection, like a worried mother trying to sooth her troubled child, like rain on dried earth, the Light heard his plea.

The Kyuubi's laughter was cut in an instance, as it too felt the presence of the divine power. Frowning, the demon growled lowly, annoyed and curious at the same time. Naruto shouldn't be able to invoke it again so soon. It should have taken quite some time, time the demon intended to use to turn him completely.

But Naruto was paying his tenant no mind as he felt the surge of power wash through him, healing tired muscles and joints, granting him the ability to stand on his own two feet again.

Miyako… for one part, was scared. Naruto had suddenly started radiating some weird light. Damn ninjas, she could never fully grasp their tricks! Yet, that serene and peaceful expression on his face… it looked like he enjoyed it.

She decided to try something.

And that something was to slap him across the face.

Nope, didn't work. Naruto fell over to the ground, still mumbling things in an incoherent language and grinning like an idiot at the same time.

Now annoyed, Miyako grabbed the senseless nin, pulled one of his arms over her shoulders and started carrying him away with great effort, miraculously keeping good balance even though her more petite untrained body lifted the heavy for her Naruto.

All the while, between the girl fighting to carry Naruto across the huge court and into the house, and said blonde still mumbling, Kyuubi worriedly turned round and round in its cage, carefully thinking what he was supposed to do next.

And the simplest of revelations hit him.

The demon grinned, a wide, fanged gesture that would give a lesser creature a heart-attack…

XxxxX

Kakashi was not surprised to find his student slightly battered, though for no obvious reason. Had Naruto encountered a plant himself? Maybe, maybe not. He was fine the last time the man saw him.

Right now, all the boy did was mumble in some incoherent language and shine. Really shine. His whole body was encased in a thin glowing sheet, feeling soft and warm to the touch.

Maybe that was the 'Light' Naruto seemed to believe in. Kakashi had never questioned the blonde's ways when he was younger and still under training, from him and some other guy called Tirion, as Naruto had informed him. What was this Tirion doing with Naruto, though? Was he the one that taught the blonde how to use this Light? Likely.

"I-I'm so sorry, Kakashi-san! I… I had no idea such a thing existed in the first place!" Rikou did his best to apologize to the inconvenience from before (After all, that fight was nothing but a nuisance to the jounin).

"It's alright, Rikou-san. Since we're all alive and well…" he glanced at his student

"There's no noteworthy problem." He nodded and turned back to Naruto, who was lying peacefully on the flimsy couch, still mumbling. Miyako had found an interest in the dreaming blonde in the past hour and had been hovering over his head watching him sleep and mumble the whole time. It was kind of interesting, and unsettling at the same time.

Kakashi sure didn't want someone peeping at him when he slept.

That's why he always had a kunai with him.

Always.

"But… how could something like this exist in _my _garden?" Rikou spoke to himself, still bewildered by the jounin's little story. The question lingered in the ninja's mind as well, since he knew his friend to be quite the pacifist. It would be strange if he suddenly decided to decorate his garden with man-eating plants, or killing-lashers and whatever.

"Someone must have planted it there, dear." Riku's wife, Yozora stepped into the scene to add her own two words. Kakashi looked as bored as ever to her plain explanation, but Riku seemed to find it far more interesting than it should be.

Weird man.

"Oh! How right you are darling! Kakashi-san, what do you think?" was he dealing with a duo of idiots? Well, they where indeed civilians, but Kakashi nonetheless hated it when the obvious was stated verbally like this. It was like a kindergarten kid suddenly realized that the sky was blue.

"… someone planted a plant." He said no more, as he turned and took a kunai out, setting it before his blonde student.

Precisely and too fast for civilian eyes to follow, Kakashi shredded the sheet of Light to pieces, the power dissolving and Naruto's mumbling finally seizing as well.

Riku, Yozora and Miyako, all stared at him.

"… it was getting on my nerves." And there was no more illumination given as he stepped outside of the room.

XxxxX

"… so this is pretty much how the situation goes." Kakashi finished explaining to his two other students in a more remote room within the mansion. Sasuke and Sakura both listened intently as their teacher unfolded the situation.

"What do you make of it?" he asked after a moment of silence, leaning back on the wall, a single eye watching both pre-teens intently.

Sasuke was the first to speak up, strangely enough "We're probably dealing with a summoner…" he began

"One that uses plants as summons?" Sakura's voice was bewildered, and none of them could blame her for her naivety. It was common knowledge that summons, usually used only by strong shinobi, where limited to animals only, like felines, canines, birds, even fish, but never the immobile and relatively harmless plant-life. The fact that Kakashi encountered such a monstrosity was worth a new legend!

"There are many strange things in this world Sakura; this is probably just one of them." The jounin waved it off, speaking words of experience. Truthfully, in a world that people flew around blasting junks of rock with their bare hands and shot fireballs out of their mouths, the word 'unbelievable' took a whole different meaning.

Sasuke raised a hand "I suggest we patrol the perimeter, keep a close eye to the other labyrinth complexes around the mansion. For all we know, there could be more of these things hiding in there." He suggested and Kakashi happily nodded.

"I'll have Naruto do that for us when he's awake again. Now, question number two: If these things really are summons, then there must also be a summoner close by. You might not know it, but no summon can stay in this world for too long without its master being nearby. There are some exceptions, like my dogs which are both messenger summons and battle companions, but large-sized ones can't stir too far from the summoner." He explained fluidly.

"Why is that, sensei?" Sakura cleverly added in. The most basic questions are usually the most useful as well, though.

"Summons, generally don't belong to this world. They exist in a realm away from our own, and we kind of pull them away from this realm and link them here, through our own bodies. Small summons, like my dogs, require small links, thus it is easy for them to handle their own existence in this plane, thus supporting themselves on their own. Big summons on the other hand, require a larger link, one which requires a subconscious focus from both the master and the summon. That is why the 'Boss' summons are really hard for someone to achieve, but also hard to control as well."

Both genin nodded, satisfied with the explanation. It did make sense, whatsoever.

"So, you think the threat lies close by?" Sasuke raised an eyebrow at his teacher.

Kakashi smiled, that one-eyed, mask hidden expression of his.

"Ma, not only close by." He glanced backwards, towards the door.

The small gape closed in an instant, whoever had been spying on them already gone. Sasuke and Sakura didn't turn fast enough to see him…

But Kakashi did. And he smiled.

XxxxX

His labored breathing nearly echoed in the empty hallway as he dashed for his life, pressing past door after door, to the only safe heaven he knew, to the only place where none could find him.

He did, however, spare a glance backwards, and felt a wave of relief wash over him at the sight of nobody. It seemed that they hadn't really noticed his presence, or thought him too unimportant to get involved with. That was good.

With a satisfied smile and a lighter heart, he turned forward to…

Come face first with a grinning Cyclops?

"Haven't they told you not to run in the halls?" Kakashi berated with that unsettling smile of his, patting him on the head. The culprit turned around in wonder, gazing at the empty corridor as if it had betrayed him.

"H-how…?" he tried to squeak but Kakashi was quick to give him another of his oh-so-creepy smiles, the ones that made you want to look away yet captivated you all the same.

"Ninjas have more abilities than you can guess. Now, let's go have a talk with your parents Sora-kun." He rested a hand on the boy's shoulder, and in a matter of another second, both of them where gone, the corridor empty once more…

Something stirred in the corner, dark eyes peering through a blanket of darkness, gazing at the spot Kakashi and the young Sora boy stood mere moments ago.

Soon, it too left the hallway, dissipating into nothing…

XxxxX

"While I understand your concern, Sora-kun, wandering on your own is not safe, not now." Riku spoke to his child, both he and Yozora scolding him for running around alone this late at night, while in a normal situation he should be sleeping soundly in his bed.

Miyako kept poking a sleeping Naruto on the couch. The firm muscles where fun to tease, in her opinion at least. She mildly wondered how a boy her age could be so well endowed. She knew most civilian kids weren't.

Sasuke approached his teacher carefully, intent on not letting the other occupants of the room realize his movement.

"Kakashi-sensei, you think the boy could have any relation to this?" he half-whispered, half-mumbled as he took on his cool mask, letting no emotions slip on his face.

The jounin made a throaty sound, not sure how to answer.

"I've known Sora-kun for a long time, and he doesn't seem more dangerous than a six year old with a dagger, and that's _if _he ever got his hands on one." He said after a few moments of berated silence.

Sasuke snorted "You can't imagine what a six year old can do with a dagger, sensei." He said, grumpily reminiscing on the way his older brother could handle weapons with ease and grace from a very early age.

Kakashi glanced at him, nodding his head.

"If he is up to something, then I don't believe it's a plan of his own volition. Sora is a gentle boy, albeit quiet." He added in the youngster's defense. He had seen how Riku and Yozora had brought up their family. There was little if not any chance that they made murderers out of them.

While Riku and Sora where finishing their father and son talk, Miyako was getting onto pulling on both of Naruto's cheeks, Sakura sneering at the creative grimaces she made out of the unconscious blonde.

"It's about time that idiot wakes up…" Sasuke mumbled more to himself as he walked over the duo of torturers. Kakashi grinned in his own way.

"Come on, Hinata-chan, not in the face…" Naruto mumbled in his sleep, catching both Sakura and Miyako off-guard. The first for hearing the familiar name and the last for it being peculiar.

Sakura giggled, while Miyako's expression turned a little more sour than it should.

"Who's Hinata?" she asked, point a finger at the now drooling Naruto and the question at her fellow torturer. Sakura grinned

"Some girl from our class that he seemed to really get along with; maybe they're dating, don't really know. He doesn't talk about himself much." She shrugged, not really caring about Naruto's romance. She had been really glad when he finally stopped drooling over her in the academy some time prior. His change of tastes was something strange, as well as the fact that he hid his otherworldly powers from them as well.

Not that she minded not having him go after her, and having an actual fan that was loyal… to some extent… nope, she didn't care at all.

Frowning, Miyako slid closer to the young boy's face, leaning towards him with a grin beginning to form on her lucid lips. Sakura on the other hand, was twitching in bewilderment, her imagination running wild as she thought of how would it be if it was _she _that was leaning at the very moment… that sent quite a few unpleasant goose-bumps over her whole skin.

"Naruto-kun…" the blonde girl whispered in his ear.

"Sasuke-kun is trying to k-i-s-s you." She said a little louder into his hearing appendage…

The girl lost no second as she grabbed the oncoming Sasuke and forced his head towards Naruto's…

"TEMEYARO!!" the blonde screamed, startled from his dream in fear of what the God's had warned him of…

And resulted in bumping his lips, _hard _I might add, to his Uchiha teammate's own, resulting in both of them being knocked backwards in their respective directions.

Sakura couldn't help the laughter than came over her, and not even Miyako had restraint enough to not roar in joy at her successful prank. Kakashi walked up himself, grinning at them all.

"I know you kids want to form some bonding and all, but its about time we get some sleep." He explained but to no avail, as Sasuke and Naruto had entered another debate over which one was the homo.

"You freaking tried to kiss me!" Naruto yelled in anger.

"You were the one that kissed me first, idiot!" Sasuke retorted in boiling rage.

"Wha?! I didn't kiss you, you self imploded bastard!"

"You don't even know what imploded means…"

"Damn right I don't!"

…

"Ma, I'm off to bed. Naruto, make some clones to patrol the mansion and the outskirts. See you all tomorrow." Kakashi batted in the opportunity of the silent moment and disappeared in a cloud of smoke. All four looked at each other, then began laughing for no apparent reason.

"I… I should have taken a picture of this…" Miyako blurted in between her laughs.

"And… And… did you see, Naruto? Hhahaha it was, it was, like… Buhahahaha!" Sakura couldn't even form a comprehensible sentence.

"Maybe we should do it again and tape it! Haaahahaha" If the world was going to be destroyed at this very moment or should aliens ever want to invade this planet, now would be the right time. For Sasuke was rolling on the floor laughing, something that no one ever was graced to see.

His friends didn't seem to notice a thing though as they indulged within their own hysterics, mumbling whatever came to their distorted minds.

"Wh… Why are we laughing?!" Naruto yelled, clutching his stomach, fighting to breath.

"I don't freaking know!" Sakura yelled back and returned to laughing, hitting the couch with her fists in an attempt to alleviate some of the frustration that was building within.

"S… something… is wrong…. Ahahahaha" Naruto tried to yell again but to no avail, as the joyous sounds of his friends covered the power of his voice. He had scarcely noted the fact that Miyako's family was nowhere to be seen and the room felt strangely… strange…

'…_Cleanse…' _a voice, maybe that little thing called reason, spoke within his mind. Naruto gripped that string of hope within the encroaching madness, calling upon the Light for the particular spell.

And he felt it rushing through his whole body, through every vein, muscle and joint, a purifying flame that made the world seem clearer, if only for a moment.

Everything stopped. His laughter abruptly came to an end, even though it was only his own, as his friends kept on with their own hysterics. Looking around, he finally recognized that feeling, one that spoke volumes of what was happening.

Taint. Dark, malicious taint was creeping inside the room like a swarm of worms, intent on devouring them all while they where unable to do anything but laugh till their heart exploded.

Laughing gas? A spell? A demon's mind trick? Naruto had little idea of what was going on, but thankfully he had freed himself of the trance.

With haste and care he approached his friends, casting the spell on each of them and freeing them from the grasp of insanity that had come over. They all blinked over and over, making sure their senses weren't as dulled.

"W… where is everyone?" Miyako spoke worriedly, noticing her family was nowhere to be seen in the strangely darkening room, the lights faltering, something gloomy and dark creeping through the walls and windows, visible even to her eye.

Naruto paused for a moment, stretching out his senses…

"Kakashi-sensei is… at the other side of the mansion?" How he got there in this short a time, was a mystery. Nevertheless, they had to reach him and inform him of the situation at hand, lest things got out of control…

"And the clients lie a floor above us… there's something that dulls my tracking though… as if a shroud has covered them." There where very few things that could actually stop the Light from tracking the life-force of someone. A few of these things was either demonic or dark taint, both of which though where easily recognizable and easily felt by anyone who dared call himself a Paladin.

Naruto couldn't feel anything.

"Sasuke, Sakura, you go grab Kakashi-sensei, wake him up if his sleeping or whatever! I'm gonna go check on the clients." Naruto ordered in a fashion not so appealing to his onyx haired friend. He couldn't help some sarcasm.

"The all-mighty Paladin wants to take care of it on his own?" he suggested with one raised eyebrow. Naruto glared at him, straight in the eye.

"No, I just don't want any of you guys killed. There's something big up there. Come assist me when you grab sensei, ok?" he nodded to his own plan and Sasuke grunted in approval. He did have a point, even though the Uchiha thirsted for some combat after such a long and boring excursion that this mission seemed to be.

"Let's move!" he shouted and they all run at the door, which was closed for no apparent reason.

Naruto didn't hesitate to kick it down with a chakra-powered kick…

And all hell broke loose.

Outside in the corridor, if he had ever seen something more maddening, something more frightening, disgusting, dark, dangerous and everything wretched, it was no match for what lied before him. Sakura turned around to puke.

Bodies lied twitching and wailing on the floor, malformed and destroyed, skin peeling away and eyes bulging out of their sockets, hands like claws grabbing for their feet and mouths full of distasteful fangs going for their throats, the walls tainted with blood and some other crusty matter they couldn't recognize, an icy mist settling on the floor, hiding the otherwise expensive carpets, now stained with human intestines and more blood.

Everything assaulted their senses head first. The sight of the wretched things, probably zombies, the thick smell of blood and gore, the chill, probably very low temperature that beheld the room… everything hit them as if a ship had just collided with their heads.

Naruto was the first to grip himself out of the stun, having seen such a scene before from what Tirion had shown him to be Stratholme… or what remained of it. The eternally burning city…

The same shouldn't apply here. He should have felt this many undead lurking just outside their door! He should have seen this coming! Then why, oh why, had he not noticed the slightest of clues about their presence?

A Necromancer…?

Not having much time to contemplate, Naruto gripped the Ashbringer and called upon the Light's might.

Jumping in the middle of the corridor and away from his friends, Naruto whirled rapidly, sending bolts of holy energy on each and every undead that was unlucky enough to be close.

The zombies where instantly decimated, their weak undead bodies not able to withstand the power of the attack.

Naruto clenched his teeth as he stopped his spin. "What are you looking at?! Get a fucking move on!" he yelled as more undead approached from both sides of the corridor. Sasuke gritted his own teeth. This was nothing before the butchery he had seen in his home! NOTHING!

He yelled that in his mind as he gripped Sakura's hand and dragged her along.

Naruto was ready to run for it when he remembered another thing…

"Miyako!" he had to duck for a fireball came his way… wait, a fireball??

The blazing fury hit the wave of encroaching undead with a blast, killing some instantly and putting other on fire. The immolated ones didn't seem to mind one bit though as they continued their mindless assault.

Naruto gazed at Miyako and then at her smoking hands like a child that just learned the earth was going round and round.

"What? Never seen a mage before?" she said, blowing a smoking finger and smiling at him.

"Uh… uh…" not really having a smart answer at this pressing moment, Naruto just grabbed her hand and began running for where he thought the stairs for the second floor should be.

Miyako squeaked at the contact but made no other sounds of protest, letting him drag her along and shooting small fireballs at the still pursuing zombies. Naruto could see Sasuke and Sakura being a few meters ahead, running towards what seemed to be a two-way corridor. Sasuke took the turn left, towards where Kakashi was supposed to be… hopefully alive.

The blood on the corridors was never ending, the creeping mist hanging at their feet like a cold blanket.

"Right! Go right!" Miyako instructed and so the paladin did.

This part of the house seemed even more horrifying than the last, filled with twitching corpses, some even reaching to grab for them out of nowhere. Both youngsters forced themselves to ignore them, not having time to ponder about how unsettling the sight and smell of the place was.

How could this happen? They had been in the living room for merely, maybe half an hour, and it came to this! The whole household's staff seemed to be slaughtered and turned into mindless zombies, the stench and sight of blood were everywhere, and all they had was themselves to fend to this situation!

Soon, faster than they had expected, they came to the last hallway that led to where Hinata had seen the bodies of Ms Yozora and Mr Riku. Were they still alive? Was, by some magic, this room unaffected? Even though they knew such hopes where naïve, they couldn't help thinking them, if only to ease their hearts.

Naruto set the Ashbringer before him, preparing for anything, while Miyako carefully put herself a step behind him, eyes peering at everything, the ceiling, the walls, the ruined carpets and tapestries…

"**Aah, the entertainment has arrived…" **a chilly, husky voice said. Naruto gripped his blade even tighter, bracing himself for anything. Miyako was taken aback for a brief moment, as the power he emitted unconsciously seemed to slip outwards, giving him a soft golden glow…

The blonde was no fool to casually open a door that could very well be booby-trapped with God knows what contraption. Setting himself in a stance, Naruto gathered his strength and sliced the wooden concrete in two, splintering it open.

Inside awaited an image they would have never expected… not in a million years.

XxxxX

"Damn it, damn it, damn it!" Sasuke swore at his own stupidity. How could such a powerful presence escape his senses? How could he be so dulled as to entirely miss the existence of this being? As they had been running down the gory corridor, Sasuke had suddenly felt that surge of power, that aura of darkness that seemed to haunt and engulf him, a choking presence that called to his very soul…

He had hastily shaken it away from him. Whatever this darkness was, it had nothing to do with him! Whatever this saturating power seemed to be, he would not let himself fall prey to its call!

"Sakura!" he yelled after he realized he was running alone. Starting to panic, the Uchiha spurred around, calling after the pink haired girl again and again.

But she was nowhere to be seen.

He clenched his fists, gritted his teeth and began to run back. Sensei was a strong ninja, he could take care of himself for a little more while.

Again! Again he let his attention slip, again he lost something, something important to him! No, wait, that didn't sound right…

Regardless, he had no time to ponder on his feelings. He had to find and save Sakura, if the situation demanded so.

He only hoped that he would make it in time…

"**Are you… looking for this?"** a dark voice, dripping with evil and sneer, said from behind him. Sasuke froze for barely a second, spinning around with kunai in hand, prepared for anything.

His shock though could have been greater than his awe…

XxxxX

"**I believe we have met before? No, probably not." **The man before them said, sitting casually on a leather sofa, not the least affected by their threatening gaze. His robes had a yellow hue to their color, decorated with skulls here and there, while he wore some kind of horned helmet that concealed his eyes, a long pointy grey beard decorating his chin. The skin of his hands was pale, seemingly devoid of blood, and his lips an unhealthy color.

But what was even stranger than the man's sense of dressing, was the state of this room… which was surprisingly normal.

The doors slammed to a close behind them, startling them both. Even though the whole house seemed destroyed and decorated with human intestines, this particular room was clean and neat, not even a drop of blood staining it.

"**You see, if we had indeed met, you wouldn't be here, young ones. Heh, at least not alive." **He sipped his tea casually, making both of them fidget in anticipation. What was he plotting?

The man seemed to glance up at them, as if he had just remembered something.

"**Oh my, but where are my manners? Please, do sit down." **He motioned to a couple of chairs, the only thing separating them from him being a low table. None of the two though seemed eager to oblige as they peered cold daggers at him. Not that he was affected in the least.

"**I insist…" **he spoke, the polite tone being overly there, a threat underlined in his speech.

Naruto felt a pressure from behind him, something akin to a hand grabbing at his shoulder, pushing him forward. He barely held a scream when he saw that what applied pressure on him was a skeleton, an animated skeleton! Miyako wasn't as subtle…

"**I wouldn't advise you harming my servants. We have much to talk about, after all. Tell me, young Paladin, have you ever heard of…" **he titled his head to the side slightly, an almost frightening sight.

"**The Scourge?" **Naruto's eyes widened as he remembered one of Tirion's narrations… it was the story that led him to his demise and final merging with the Ashbringer, the reason he had become such a legendary pursuer of justice…

"**I see revelation dawning on you. Thankfully, t****hat'll spare me the pleasantries." **He took another sip from his tea, relaxing back on the couch.

"**What you saw within the mansion, boy, is nothing." **He chuckled **"What Lord Arthas is capable of far exceeds the minorities you've witnessed within the halls. Whole kingdoms have fallen in his wake, armies have been decimated, destroyed." **He put the cup down, glancing back at them with chilly eyes, frozen eyes…

"**Women… children… elderly… none shall be spared the master's wrath. None ever did. Death, you see, does not discriminate one from another. It claims all, it rules over all. We've paid you a visit today as to warn you of what lies ahead, young Paladin. Oh, but you're not the first, mind you. Countless Paladins had fallen against the Scourge in the past, your downfall will be no different." **

"**As a shinobi, you must already understand the concept of death, do you not? You pitiable fools would accept your deaths as if they where nothing, if only to save your homeland. Azeroth… was different. It was their desire to live, the burning passion to exist that brought them over many challenges. Even King Arthas had a very hard time against the joined forces of their world.****"**

"**But what Tirion Fordring did atop Icecrown Citadel signaled the downfall of the very land he wished to protect. At our King's defeat, the forces of the Scourge had no leader, no master to watch over their mindless souls. Free from his grasp but with no soul to call their own, all the undead that didn't turn into Forsaken became mindless monstrosities, scouring the world with no restraint or pity. It wasn't long before more than half of Azeroth was engulfed in the flames…"**

"**Now, with one world destroyed, my master would of course not be satisfied with just one turned kingdom. Eternity, you see, requires bigger conceptions. So we took advantage of the gathered magical knowledge, and hunted down what survivors tried to escape our grasp in other worlds. I suspect you've met some of said refugees?"**

"**Two more worlds aside Azeroth have already fallen, and the Scourging of this one has already began. But you know what I find most pleasurable above all, paladin? The screams of despair, the fear embed in the souls of humanity, whenever I meet it, never seizes to amaze me. It's intoxicating."**

"**Give this message to the leader of your village, paladin. Tell him that, whichever way he decides to deal with this information, nothing will change. The end is imminent, unavoidable. Struggle as you wish, fight as you will, but death claims all in the end…" **

Naruto's mouth hang agape as everything the man was telling him finally sank in, albeit slowly. Setting his jaw firm, Naruto glared at the ground with downcast eyes. What was he supposed to do now? Talk back to him? Try to reason? But who could reason with a merciless killer? Diplomacy was not the way out of this…

So he gripped his blade. Gripped it tightly.

One swift motion was enough to turn the skeleton that held him to ashes, burning him in the cleansing fire of the light. Naruto called upon the divine force to launch a bolt of said energy to the skeleton holding Miyako, incarnating the undead.

When he turned back to the robed man, he only had an eyebrow risen in amusement.

"Then I have something that you should convey to your own leader." He pointed the Ashbringer to him.

"Do not underestimate us! Do not look down on the spirit of fire! I am a paladin! We are shinobi! If you think you will so easily defeat us, then you're gravely mistaken. We will resist till our last ounce of breath! We will destroy anyone who harms the peace we have fought so hard for!" the man titled his head once more, this time seeming more weird and frightening than before.

"**How naïve… still believing in heroism and honor that is. You'll soon find out what my previous words meant, boy. I assure you, in a few years to come, nothing will remain of this world more than ashes and oblivion. Struggle, struggle till you can squirm no more! I delight at the sight of such lively prey! You'll see the darkness, paladin… the cold embrace of the Scourge awaits…"**

Naruto launched forward, poising his blade to cut the gibbering man in half. The older 'human' laughed as he vanished in a swirl of shadows…

"**Unfortunately I have other matters to attend to, less I would have stayed longer. But I do believe that your friends need more attention than I do… and… are you confident that your other paladin friend will survive?" **the man laughed once more, his voice eerie, lost in the shadows of the room.

"**We will meet again. Farewell, Ashbringer…" **and with that he was gone…

Naruto gritted his teeth as he unsheathed his blade from the ground. Furious, he turned towards Miyako and the door.

"We move now! Sakura and Sasuke probably need help!" he said and rushed towards the door, the agitated blonde girl mumbling complaints from behind him. Just where were her parents?

Naruto was worried sick at even the idea that Sasuke and Sakura probably hadn't made it in this hell. But what bugged him above all was the mysterious messenger's last words…

Would she be alright? She had to be alright, the Light protected them both! He prayed to whatever God was up there that she would be okay… alive for him to see and embrace once more.

'_Hinata…'_

_XxxxxX_

Fear, was something that Sasuke thought he would never again experience, for he was led by the belief that nothing would be more horrid to him than the image of his whole family, his clan, being slaughtered right before his eyes, a courtesy of his brother's genjutsu powers. He would never forget that night…

Yet right now, that so horrid emotion was beginning to take a grip of him. Sasuke tried to focus on anything, something that would spare him the feelings that began to arose, that would get in his way.

It had to be an illusion. It just had to be some strange genjutsu cast upon him to make him lose his cool.

There was no way that he was looking at Sakura's head right now. There was no way those empty green eyes where really hers, the blood dripping from her severed neck real. It was too much to accept… too much to actually be.

When? He had lost her from his sights for barely a few seconds, and this had to happen! Frothing rage began building up behind the fear, an unbridled fury both at the culprit and at himself for failing to even protect his teammate at such a time. How pathetic could he be? How more powerless and degraded?

He would have no more of this. This bastard would pay, pay with his life! No, his life wasn't enough. At that moment, Sasuke swore that he would slay every one of these bastards that he found, for it was very unlikely that this man acted on his own.

Between his anger, fear and despair, Sasuke mildly noted that the world suddenly seemed clearer, more pristine, the low mist at his feet being nothing but thin air as he could observe every detail, every twitch the man's body did. But he paid it no mind, no heed.

Sasuke's eyes had grown red, a single tomoe on each of them, and the man's smirk had grown so much it could split his face…

"Yeeeessss… I see hatred. Gooood." He hissed, tossing the lifeless head aside.

But Sasuke was already on the charge, tossing projectiles at his enemy while he approached. The man seemed to be middle-aged, dark robed with stitched skulls adorning his robe, his skin pale as death, foreign tattoos adorning what skin was visible and eyes an empty pale gray, more like blind rather than the all-seeing eye of the Hyuugas.

Yet the avenger paid no mind to his outward appearance. All that mattered now, was vengeance.

It gave little surprise to his mind that the man instead of dodging his ranged attack, erected a shield around himself, a thin barrier of dark energy that engulfed him from head to toe. He then began chanting, dark energy forming in his hands. Sasuke had sane enough a mind to react, forming seals to counter whatever was to come.

A bolt of shadowy energy went for him as the man finished his incantation. But the shinobi was prepared, bringing his fingers to his lips…

"**Katon: ****Hitama no Jutsu!" **he shouted and the corridor was engulfed in flames…

When everything dissipated, Sasuke blinked once, then twice. He had used a more concentrated version of the fireball technique, one he'd been working to use in narrow places like this, in order to avoid possible damage on something valuable, a teammate or maybe an item. It was a lot weaker than the normal Gokakyou, but it was good for single-targets.

But this? Had this man really defeated Sakura? Hell! All that remained of him was a small pile of ashes on the ground! There was no chakra in the air that indicated he had kawarimied, or teleported away in any other way. Wait, how could he see chakra? He could make out the thin outlines of blue energy, leftovers from his own attack, he could see every tiny detail on the ground, but Sakura's head, which had previously been tossed aside, was nowhere to be seen. There wasn't even ash or any other indication of the severed skull around.

Sasuke turned around, noticing a mirror on the wall. Even in the relative darkness, he could see himself…

And smiled. Then grinned, grinned widely, seeing the red sea that where his eyes, and the single tomoe that adorned each of them.

He had the Sharingan… maybe that was something he should thank the man for. He had always heard that in order to achieve his bloodline, a certain surge of emotions, battle-adrenaline or close to death experiences where ways to trigger it. And he had done it! His previous rage had probably been enough to bring it forth!

But, speaking of the source of said rage, if that wasn't really Sakura's head, then where was sh…

"Sasuke-kun?! Sasuke-kun!!" he heard a girly voice screaming from behind him, a very familiar girly, screaming voice.

Turning around he saw Sakura charging at him, eyes watery with fear and arms extended as if to hug him, which she did, and he had to take a step back to balance himself.

Wait, why did he allow her to hug him? Normally he would just have dodged the attempt. But, she had already done so and it was too late now, and he held him tightly too, her body temperature a striking contradiction to the coldness that was taking over within this mansion…

Sasuke pushed her back a little, enough to be at arm's reach.

Then slapped her. Hard.

"Don't… you ever…" he started, she not having turned her head towards him again yet, probably from the shock.

"Do this to me again." His tone was soft, shaky, clearly indicating something that Sasuke probably hadn't meant to say, or rather, Sakura's fantasy was screaming nonsense at her again.

She turned to him with eyes teary with delight "Sasuke-kun, I didn't know you where so… so…" she paused to sniff "worried!"

The Uchiha looked at her as if she had grown a second her. Him? Worried? For her? Since when? Okay, so he had gone a little berserk at seeing her beheaded, so what?

"Oh! Right! We also have to run!" she said cheerfully, surely not befitting the situation. Sasuke quirked an eyebrow at her. Then looked past her shoulder.

Hordes of zombies even his bloodline couldn't count where marching towards them in a hastened pace, rotting mouths agape and yellow-deathly eyes peering at them with unholy want, probably itching for fresh human flesh. Some strange humanoids with their heads in a bag and a single eye popping in the middle where the face should be where also scaling the walls, looking at them intently.

"The liiiiviiiiing… geeeet theeeem." One of the cyclopic monsters leered, increasing its pace.

Sasuke was sweating. Sweating hard, his eyes wide with both bewilderment, and tones of fear accompanied with adrenaline.

"See? Aren't they just adorable?" Sakura commented, which bewildered him even more. What was this? Some weird dream he was having or something?

He didn't want to find out. So he grabbed her hand, and run. Run fast.

Sakura was amazingly keeping pace, and even passing him, an expression of silent terror written all over her face.

XxxxX

"WHAT THE FUCK?!" Naruto screamed as he saw his two teammates running, a horde of undead right behind them, screaming and screeching in the hunt.

"No time for chit-chat! Get moving!" Sasuke shouted and pulled the blonde paladin with him. Miyako seemed to be quite fast on her legs too, despite being a girl and wearing a dress. She mildly decided to tear the bottom part at the sides, just to make it easier.

"Why don't you Gokakyou them or something?" Naruto shouted, but then again, those cyclop like undead seemed pretty fast, hell, if Sasuke and company went even a step slower, he was sure they would jump them on the spot. The Uchiha would have no time, even while making the seals on the run, to stand, turn and sprout the fireball at the monsters before they were on him.

"Why don't you stay back and be the meal?!" Sasuke shouted, still running. They where blindly turning the corridors, too much in a haste to even consider their path of choice. At some point, after a few more wild seconds, they came in a corridor with a closed door, an ominous sign.

Naruto though wasted no time in gripping his blade and smashing through the wooden obstacle, easily removing it.

But, to the accomplishment of their fears, instead of another corridor or any other waylay, it was a room. A simple, empty room.

Team 7 eyes widened as they noticed their sensei sleeping soundly on a bed at the other end of the room, seemingly without a care in the world. Hell, he even snored!

"I'm gonna kill him, I'm gonna kill, hell, hold me 'cause I'm gonna kill him!" Sakura screeched, marching towards her sensei. Even the zombies and geists behind them had stopped to peer. Two glanced at each other, then shrugged.

"Beeen a looong time, since we haaaad fresh meeaaaat." Said one of them, and Naruto froze for a moment, remembering the reason they had run all this way. Quickly he spun around, the Ashbringer poised before him.

The undead seemed to cower for a moment, taking a small step back at the sight of the blade which had turned whole armies of them to dust.

Sasuke also noticed the fear the monsters held for the blonde, though he couldn't tell if it was for him or his blade. Nevertheless, he prepared his hands to form seals the moment Naruto made his move. They had little chances over this… even with his powers, he was sure that Naruto wouldn't make it in such a narrow space that was provided.

"What do you want here, undead? How dare you intrude in this house, and kill everyone!" the blonde shouted with rage.

The horde grunted, then looked at each other, as if they communicated silently. One of the geists, the cyclopic undead, stepped forward. Sasuke could see now that he was calmer, that the monster indeed had its head bagged, a single eye popping where the face should be, a foul smell emitting from its being. A rope was tied loosely around its neck, keeping the back in place, and peasantry-linen cloth hid its horrid body. Claw like feet and hands adorned their respective places, and the undead was slim, thinner than any normal human. It was probably to increase its versatility. Hell, who else could climb walls with his hands?

"Kiiiill? Noooo, master didn't let us kiiiiiill… not yeeeet." It sprouted. Naruto looked bewildered for a moment.

"What are you talking about? Who is your master?!" there was no way…

The horde of undead split in two, letting a narrow passage between them. An armored man stepped forward, his armor black like a starless night, his hair a silvery-white, his skin of similar color and his eyes a pulsing, deathly-teal…

"A death knight...?" Naruto wondered aloud, making both Sasuke, Miyako and Sakura glance at him before focusing back on the man.

The man frowned at each and one of them, then his eyes focused on the blade Naruto held in his hands.

"You…" he pointed "Are you the Ashbringer?" the other three, who probably hadn't heard a death knight's voice before, couldn't help but shiver at the raw coldness of his voice, like frozen emotions that raged within a cask of ice.

"Umm… yeah?" he said, unsure of how to reply. The man didn't even seem to carry a runeblade, the trademark weapon of their class. And the undead had halted at his command, so…

The man bowed lowly, not like how it was a custom here, with your arms at the side, but with one arm making a semi-circle before him as he went down. Then he rose, and kneeled, as if the whole set of movements was planned beforehand.

"By order of Highlord Mograine, I present to you an invitation of friendship to the Knights of the Ebon Blade. The highlord would be very pleased to meet you in person, young Paladin." He said and rose. A zombie behind him moaned for no apparent reason.

"Uhh… thanks… but… why? I've heard of these knights, and there's a rumor about a powerful group growing somewhere in the mountains of Snow being spread around my own village. Would that group be the ebon blade?" he asked, and the death knight nodded.

"The reason we've found ourselves here and other details, you might inquire at the highlord. I am but a messenger of his will." He said smoothly, even though his voice still seemed to give Naruto's group the chills.

"And the undead behind you? The attack on the manor? What is going on here?!" Naruto asked with as much of a controlled voice that he could.

"It seems that a demon had previously cast a spell around you and your group, young paladin. But, said monster was easy to deal with, worry not as he is already slaughtered. As for the initial attack…" he paused for a brief moment "As you may have already noted, the Scourge is aware of your presence, lord Naruto." All but Naruto gaped at the title the man had given their friend, who was more likely to be called an idiot by a rock rather than a 'lord' by… well, anyone.

"The Ashbringer is a very perilous weapon to them. Whatever unholy it touches, it turns to ashes. It is the greatest weapon the Light ever made to battle the shadow. That weapon, and its wielder, they want destroyed, or rather, on their side once again."

"The tides of darkness close on upon this world as well. Whomever you once thought your enemy, now make your friend, for only together will we ever stand a chance against the Lich King and his minions. I… was born here, in the Elemental Continent, Uzumaki…"

"I was fifteen years of age when I died, it was a simple delivery mission from Iwa to Kumo. I was an Iwa shinobi, a genin back then. It's been almost ten years since then… regardless, we were ambushed by a small group of undead. Their numbers were still growing back then, or rather, the Lich King has yet to stabilize the portals which will pour his armies into this world." He noticed their gaping stares, and sighed, almost bitterly.

"Portals? What do you mean? And what happened here anyway?!" Naruto asked/shouted once more. The death knight glared at him.

"Dimensional portals, way-gates that allow passage to either another area, or another world, depending on the power and scale you create them for. Think of it as a massive version of kawarimi. One portal needs another to push/teleport something through, just like that jutsu needs the body of the caster and an object for the exchange. Not the most accurate description I have, you should ask a magi about such things." He said and took a breath, which made Naruto wonder. Wasn't he already dead? What did he need oxygen for?

"As for what is going on here, I already explained. And, if you step outside the mansion, you'll find a beautiful ol'boney Lich-lord waiting for you. By the way, Miss-Miyako…" he turned towards the girl.

"Your parents are safe in anti-magic secured cells, two rooms down that corridor. My minions guard the door, they'll let you through if you so wish." She nodded, but looked sick, or rather terrified, to even try and walk through all those undead to reach her parents. They weren't and the best sight to behold, sadly.

"You mentioned a 'spell' before. What's that?" Sasuke inquired, interested. The man sighed again.

"Similar to the jutsus of a ninja, though it's a far more generalized term, a spell is an invocation usually used by wizards to summon forth powers, minions, attacks or defenses. They are referred to as 'spell-casters', since their magic is usually their only way of attack. The invocations you use of the Light, paladin, are also considered spells." Naruto was also not so pleasantly reminded of that undead warlock they had to take down some time prior. How could his life get so messy in a matter of days? Wait, his life become a hell of a mess _after _he became a ninja. Maybe it was a good idea to go back…?

Nah. "Regardless, the matter is that you were all under the effects of a spell. Of an illusion. The Scourge wanted to take you down quietly, it seems. And, if I may comment, a job well done, Uchiha Sasuke, on the takedown of that cultist." The boy in questioned quirked an eyebrow.

"What you faced in that corridor was a lowly servant of the Lich, a cultist. They are usually humans, or other races, that have taken up the cause of the Lich king and aid him in the destruction of life, usually because of the promise of power. But enough chit-chat we had already. I believe it's time to cleanse this land. Come, follow me. We have an undead-lord to destroy." He leisurely walked through the small opening his minions left, they not moving an inch as the death knight made his way with ease.

He glanced back at them, seeing how Naruto and his group hadn't moved. Then he noticed their grossed expressions as they debated with themselves whether they had the courage to walk through all these atrocities. The death knight laughed.

His minions began pulling back, filling out of the corridor.

"That look never gets old." He said with a small smile as he kept walking, his minions in the front, hurrying away. Meanwhile Sakura was trying to hold her own bile… as did Miyako.

Sasuke and Naruto weren't fairing much better.

XxxxX

**A/N: So, in my opinion the opening scene of this chapter is a little fail, since the 'plant-opponent' Kakashi faced seems to have no point whatsoever, unless you want something to fill the page up. I do feel too that the way and the reasons this chapter rolled out for where a little… rushed. I mean, I'm getting Naruto from one fight to the other, again and again. I think I should rest him a little better, before he dies from exhaustion or something O.o**

**On another note, I'm looking for a Beta that can help me with this story, someone who can catch little mistakes and give some advice, meaning his thoughts on how the Chapter was written and how it… looks, for lack of a better term.**

**So all in all, I need an advisor who can help me keep track of this story . I'm having some major headaches today too… it's annoying.**

**And, because I don't want to disappoint, here's a semi-omake-canon-nitrofiltered-boostedwithstupidity-andlotsofbadassness little side story which will help keep some things on track and possibly satisfy your raging hunger for a laugh or too… if it'll manage to bring said noise out of you that is.**

_**Semi-omake-canon-nitroblablabla: The day Kakashi stood still**_

Kakashi rose from the small bed he had found himself in, examining his surroundings. He could hear the noise of battle and slaughter taking place outside, but for the life of him he couldn't remember who was supposed to be fighting this late at night. Didn't they know that people where actually trying to sleep?

Oooh, so that how it was. Aliens from an alien word where trying to alienate their world, which in turn would result into even more madness than they already had their hands already full with. And why was a pink elephant dancing on the ceiling for?

Maybe some cabalistic mating call. Maybe not.

Stepping outside, Kakashi's lone eye went wide at what he beheld. The corridor was filled with the stench of copper, bodies lay twitching on the sides, thick redness was splattered across the walls and there where even some zombies lurking around aimlessly!

This was… this was…

The best freaking haunted mansion he had ever seen!

How had they done it? How had they achieved such a marvelous omnipotent deed? Hell, this blood and corpses almost looked real! He bent down, touching one of them, and it twitched! Kakashi nearly died there and then from excitement, but thankfully was too young for heart attacks.

He approached one of the zombies, which was aimlessly staring on the wall for no apparent reason, paying him no mind. He poked it, and it grunted. He poked it harder, and it moaned. He punched in it the face, and it fell on the floor, gurgling but giving no other reaction.

He then proceeded with cuttings its head off with a kunai, marveling that it didn't even splatter blood. With a huge grin still on his face, the jounin made his way across the hall with his trophy at hand, the chin of the monster slack and its mouth hanging agape, empty void eyes seeing nothing.

Kakashi found two more zombies in his way and couldn't resist having some more fun in this fantastic place. These ones seemed more energetic as they approached him at the sound of his steps, reaching out with bony hands, flesh hanging loosely here and there. The jounin grinned widely as he gripped the head he held from the hair, started spinning it, and then tossed it with all his might at the two like a missile which found home.

The first monster had its head cut off by the force of the attack, while the second caught the other's head in its lap, stopping its stumbling and gazing at the severed head with wonder. Funny thing was, the cut head was staring back.

Kakashi watched with interest as the first zombie moaned, and the head responded in similar fashion. Soon they had engaged in what seemed like an argument where they moaned/grunted/groaned things at each other. The jounin went forth after a few minutes, growing bored of the constant nonsense.

Soon he had made it outside, after passing a rattling skeleton that seemed very interested in beheading him with that massive axe of his. Kakashi couldn't help laughing at how well it was all set up, as right at the moment the skeleton made a swing with its axe, a ghost came passing by, which resulted in the phantasmal being been torn in half. The ghost screeched like a banshee and then started bitch-slapping the skeleton to death, who went running away, and had to re-attach whichever limb fell off.

Then he had also found a huge spider, which was preparing a net-like sticky thing to throw at him and probably immobilize him with it, then eat him alive while he screamed bloody murder. It wasn't to occur though as the skeleton from before kept running from the screeching banshee and was swinging his axe around aimlessly, chopping the large spider in half completely by coincidence. That guy did seem to have a tendency with symmetrical bisections it seemed.

And then, when he stepped outside, he was even more amazed, to the point one could say his mouth hang bellow his mask, when he saw his students, along with Miyako, standing over countless bones and corses, Naruto having his blade in his hand and panting heavily, the others in similar condition. There was even the big boss of the area over there, looming over them like a curse prepared to take their miserable life and turn them into undead minions that would suffer in the darkness for eternity.

Kakashi was absolutely sure now.

This was his best fucking day.

_Ever._


	22. Chapter 22: Waves of Darkness

_**The Ashbringer: Shinobi of the Light**_

_**Chapter 22: Waves of Darkness**_

It wasn't supposed to be that hard of a mission. A normal C rank, how many things could go wrong? What hand of God could possibly intervene to make a routine 'Search and Destroy' a devastating revelation that someone was actually trying to destroy the world, and all they could actually do was watch while it happened. Or so they where told.

But Kakashi knew better. He had woken up inside a room of the mansion, only to watch his team and the client's daughter run into the darkness of the corridor. He could faintly make out moans and grunts coming from the dark distance, and the distinct smell of a corpse that rotted. It wasn't something to expect in the morning, or whatever time it was right now.

He carefully got up from what seemed like a small bed, testing his balance. He was also glad that none of his Shinobi gear seemed to be missing, and even his strength seemed to be in place. In fact, he felt like he had a whole days rest on his shoulders. Impressive.

Walking outside into the dark corridors of the mansion, he was surprised, disgusted, and alerted by the state the whole place seemed to be in. Carefully, he took a kunai out and proceeded forward, not trusting even his own shadow. He could feel his students' chakra up front, even the trail they had left behind as they headed for what seemed to be the exit of the building. It was strange… Sakura's strength was fully intact, she had probably used very little of her chakra, Sasuke was about at the half of his power and Naruto…

His use of the Sharingan over the years had given him a sharp perspective of ones chakra strength, intensity and capacity. Even when the bloodline was hidden behind his headband, he had already grown a subconscious ability to measure one's levels even without the eye, if only to a lower degree.

So he was amazed at what he was feeling from Naruto. His chakra seemed to be a mix of warm, soothing light, his normal chakra aura that seemed like a fierce, yet caring sun that blazed warmth to all those that it chose to (though how he had that impression by simply sensing his chakra, he had no idea), and there was also a faint trail of demonic energy, handiwork of the Kyuubi most likely.

Was the demon beginning to break free? How could he be influencing Naruto's reserves right now? The genin seemed to have enough chakra to fight for maybe an hour or two more, but pushing over that limit could be devastating, especially for their health.

And… he felt really great at the moment. He had to join in, they where his students after all! He wouldn't, couldn't leave them alone to face whatever peril they where marching forward for. There was also something out there, something beyond the walls of the mansion, that was dark, dark like an endless pit, freezing like a tundra and… full of malice. If he didn't know any better, he would say that it was an icy version of the Kyuubi's power! Dark, filled with malice, but the Kyuubi would make one feel as if he was scorched by the very air, suffocate on the dryness, like the flames of hell that blazed within the fox burned all the surrounding oxygen.

It was strange… and he knew his students would need help handling it.

_If _they could handle it.

XxxxX

"It would be trivial to warn you, but there's a Scourge commander right up ahead. I trust you have all sensed him already?" the death knight spoke as they walked down the final corridor, towards the exit.

"What do you mean? It doesn't feel like chakra, but…" Sasuke commented, staring on the ground as he tried to focus on this ominous feeling…

"Undead don't have chakra. What you feel is the Lich's aura. You can say it's a subconscious weapon, used to terrify a victim before he's frozen into oblivion. One's psyche does influence his combat abilities after all." He commented and gripped a sword, seemingly out of nowhere. Naruto noted that it was probably his rune-blade, seeing as how the blade was adorned with various runes that glowed vaguely, and the hilt was a dark color he couldn't clearly distinct in the low light. It also had skulls decorating the hilt guard, quite an intriguing yet fitting decoration.

"Prepare your weapons, your wills and your might. A Lich is a power herald, do not underestimate him under any circumstances." He said and smashed the door open.

"Minions! Attack!" he shouted and all the undead that had been marching behind them shot forward with amazing speed, one that the ninja had a hard time catching up with.

"Take their sacrifice as an opportunity to access the situation, then act accordingly! Move!" the death knight shouted and shot forward along with his minions.

Naruto scurried the yard, his eyes hardened in a glare as he watched in silent horror what was taking place out there.

In the middle of the court hovered what he supposed that was the 'Lich', the commander of these undead. It was a strange creature, as its body seemed to made out of torn robes and a bony torso, what should be its main body being what looked like a frosty power, which sipped outwards from beneath him, like a frozen mist.

His face was skeletal with twin glacier-blue eyes, empty yet peering right at them as if it saw through their very souls. He wore a head decoration similar to the Pharaohs of ancient times, leaders that existed before the Kages. Hell, he even had that weird elongated chin!

The bony hands of the Lich rose, pointing towards their direction, chains clinging with the movement.

"**There! Go, my minions! Slaughter them all! The living have no place here!" **his voice was worse than a death knights, like a winter that smashed onto you with all its force, a chill that froze one's very spine. Naruto saw the armies of undeath before him clash against each other, the small group of the death knight's force fighting fervently against the far greater number of the Lich's minions. The death knight himself was fighting with every ounce of his strength, cleaving undead with every slice of his blade.

Naruto and Sasuke were both scowling at the number of opponents they would be facing. Sakura and Miyako were both horrified at what lied before them.

"Sasuke… you sure you want to join in on this?" Naruto asked, knowing that his teammate had no power over the light, thus lighter chances against this force of darkness.

Sasuke smirked at him "You see those two big ones?" he pointed towards a couple of atrocities which looked like a bunch of corpses stitched together, three arms armed with butcher knifes and a hook, a single open eye peering at where it attacked and a split stomach where the heart and its guts seemed to reside. It was… disgusting, if that word was even enough.

Naruto smirked right back "Hmm… I bet you can't even take one of 'em, let alone both." He said, crossing his arms in defiance. Sasuke's eyebrow twitched.

"Just you watch dobe. Here's the deal, I take down those two, you get the rest of em. If I fail, its ten hundreds on me."

"If you fail, you might die. Then who's gonna give me the tens?" Naruto retorted.

Sasuke took out a couple of kunai, dual-wielding them "Them just make sure I don't, stupid." And shot towards his targets.

Naruto grunted as he took on his blade "Sakura, I doubt illusions will work on them, so you should just sit back and enjoy the show on this one. Protect the client with your life. Understood?" he glanced towards his teammate who meekly nodded, still disgusted at the sight before her, if the greenish tint of her face was any indication.

He grinned widely at her, then focused his power within his blade.

"Well, here I go!"

And he was but a flash as he slaughtered anything he touched, turning everything to ashes…

XxxxX

"Three, four, five, six! Ha, beat that teme!" Naruto yelled over his shoulder as he sliced in half yet another ghoul. Sasuke was busy slicing through his own part of undead, who seemed to just freaking keep coming.

"I've already got ten down dobe! You're slower than tardiness!" the Uchiha retorted as he took a step back, flexing hands and fingers into familiar seals…

"**Katon: Gokakkyou no Jutsu!" **he shouted and the grant fireball engulfed anything in its path, the undead too slow or not caring to dodge.

Sasuke smirked "And that's at least thirty. Whatcha say…?" his triumphant runt was cut off as Naruto jumped over his head, screaming and with so much energy focused on his sword, that one could say he was glowing like a star…

Naruto smashed within the ranks of the undead, crushing the ground with his blade. Immediately the holy energy shot forward through the ground, turning to ash any undead within a ten meter radius. The paladin got up, panting slightly as he grinned to his friend.

"That makes us even teme." He said and Sasuke sighed. He just _had _to make it flashy, didn't he?

With a steeled mind and a relentless heart, both of them kept pushing forth, destroying anything in their wake… for nothing was to be left standing.

But Naruto hardly trusted that Sasuke would wind up unscathed from this skirmish. The undead where many, ten times their own numbers, it was like they alone where fighting a futile struggle… a struggle that represented the facts.

'_Like hell will I let that happen…' _Naruto thought as he charged straight for one of the lumbering abominations. With a battle cry, the blonde severed the monster in two large pieces, which fell on the floor, unmoving. It was unsettling though, how the organic fluids flooded out of the beast, and how its eyes twitched around as if they were still alive.

Looking away from the horrid sight, Naruto drove his sword into the ground, channeling power as he did so, both the Light and his own chakra.

"Sasuke!!" he roared and the onyx haired teen was quick to grasp the situation, seeing his teammate gathering such amounts of power meant only one thing…

The Uchiha jumped away with relative easy, avoiding the claws of the undead by a hair's breath, almost earning a cut in the process.

"Come you stinking monsters! I'll blow the crap outa you all!" he yelled and unleashed the building power…

The ground itself shook at the intensity of the attack, as Naruto's surge of might smashed through the very earth, unleashing itself at any undead within his line of sight. Every single one of them was turned to ashes…

The blonde paladin was relieved to see the horde of monsters being pulverized to a mere squad of them. Only the Lich and a few of his ghoul servants seemed to remain functional.

Naruto kneeled, out of breath, using his blade to keep his balance as he panted, unused to pushing himself, and his power, that hard in a single attack.

"Heh… I wanna see you beating that, teme." He said, still panting yet reluctant to breath in the ash-filled air. Sasuke walked to stand beside him, a smirk wide on his face.

"Then just sit back here and watch me, baka." And he sprinted forward, towards the towering opponent that was the commander of these battalion, or whatever remained of it.

"**Interesting… such an amusing stage we have here. The Master will be intrigued to hear of this… Indeed he will be…" **the undead seemed to be talking to himself, as the few ghouls that remained went to stop the speeding Sasuke. None of them seemed to even hinder him though, as he dodged their sloppy attacks and sliced their limbs off their rotting bodies.

As the last of the scrubs fell, Sasuke launched both his kunai at the Lich, who didn't seem to as much as care for the attack. It hit his bony frame with no effect at all.

'_Che, figures.' _It would be really lame if a couple of kunais could do much damage after all…

The Lich seemed to finally note his presence, as his hands went straight for him. Sasuke dodged them with ease, as the undead didn't seem to be faster than any of his peers.

Trying something of a higher caliber was in order, Sasuke thought. With his feet still moving, he gripped a few tagged kunai and threw them at the Lich, who made no effort to dodge the attack whatsoever.

The explosive tags blew right into his face, his whole body shaking as he fell backwards.

He caught himself though and straightened his frightening posture, glaring around in obvious displeasure.

"**Little flies are such an annoyance. How could the Master instill me such a mundane task, is beyond me. Maybe I should finish off such fools as you seem to be more hastily, so I can get over this dull mission." **

"Little flies? Ever looked yourself at the mirror, konoyaro?" Sasuke gritted his teeth.

"Someone should teach your Master a lesson." His hands sped through seals…

"And teach him and you, just how much humility is worth." He breathed in and…

"**Katon: Hoenka no jutsu (**_Phoenix Flower, I may be getting it wrong ._**)!"**

Small fireballs started hitting the Lich in quick succession, heating the frosty creature up a notch.

"**Such a foolish little attack could never hurt someone such as myself, mortal. Know your place!" **he roared and spikes of ice shot from the ground, intent on impaling Sasuke as he dodged, barely escaping with his life.

The nin grunted as he sized his opponent. The bastard seemed impervious to his jutsu, but that could just be because he didn't put much power into it. Daggers and normal attacks seemed to have no effect, at least the ones he was able to procure. So, he only had this shot left…

"**Stand still will you?!" **the Lich shouted again and more spikes went for the Uchiha, who had little choice but to keep dodging.

"**Enough!" **pyres of frost rose around Sasuke all at once, trapping him within. Frantically, Sasuke looked around for an escape, yet found none. He couldn't use his fire jutsus, at this proximity he would kill himself. His best bet was to jump out, but his onyx eyes met only a closing dome as they went skyward. The Lich was closing everything… the very ground was freezing under his feet, a predecessor of an about to be ice spike.

'_Damn it all.' _He thought as he sped through seals.

"**Raikiri!!" **a hand of lighting pierced through the ice, then went upwards, slicing the pyre in two, revealing Kakashi with lighting crackling at his hands.

Sasuke was quick to jump at the opening his teacher made, avoiding by an inch to be pierced from the unforgiving ice.

"Phew, looks like I made it in time!" Kakashi said while wiping his brow, giving Sasuke a thumbs up and a wide smile. The student sweat-dropped, but otherwise remained silent, even though he was indeed thankful that his teacher saved him in the nick of time.

"**How fascinating… so beyond the paladin and the ebon blade, there are mortals in this realm that can wield magic? The master will be delighted… such a discovery it is!" **the Lich spoke to himself. Sasuke grunted as he glared at the monster, idly noticing that the earth underneath the creature seemed to be decaying and dying…

"Sasuke, let me lend a hand. Let's finish this asshole in one blow." Naruto said as he walked towards his comrade. With enhanced vision it was easy to see how wary Naruto really was, even though the blonde tried very well to conceal it. The small frowning of his eyes, the slight unbalanced steps… it was what most would call, 'tired'.

He nodded either way. That baka was too proud to admit he couldn't keep up, but strong enough to actually do so. It was nearing irony.

Grabbing his friend's shoulder, Naruto gathered all the remaining power he could feel within him, calling upon the light with all the zeal of his mind. "Sasuke, go!" he said and the Uchiha obliged as his hands flew through hand seals, ending in a familiar 'tora'.

"**Katon:" **Naruto felt Sasuke's own power swelling as he was about to perform the jutsu.

"**Shiawa-gogakyou no jutsu! (**Fire Style: Blessed Grand Fireball)**"**

**(**A/N: A short note on my Japanese technique naming. I have no literal knowledge over the language except for what my online dictionary can provide, so for those that might know a few more things, please do inform me if I've made a mistake p;)

Sasuke himself was amazed for a moment, as the fireball he shot out of his mouth was two times the size of a normal one, as well as having a golden tinge to it. He felt Naruto's strength pour into him and then he used that strength to empower his jutsu, feeling the power leaving his body and giving birth to this magnificent specter.

The Lich was quick to defend as walls of ice rose before him to protect his boney frame.

"Hmph. No you don't." the death knight from before seemed to pop out of nowhere as he smashed shoulder first through the concrete walls, the mighty blaze of the fireball right behind him. He was quick to avoid it as he rolled behind the Lich, who was occupied with trying to catch the armored man than rising more walls to protect himself.

The fireball engulfed the undead, becoming a hovering sphere of flames for just a few seconds…

Then it exploded outwards, the participants of the fight covering themselves with their hands to protect from the embers. It was bewildering though, as the flames seemed to pass right through them rather than damage them. Kakashi kneeled, a hand hovering over one of the embers that was alive on the floor, blazing weakly. He could feel its heat, more like warmth rather than the intensity of a fire. His hand got closer but instead of burning, it just felt a tinge more warm. It didn't scorch his hand one bit even when he deliberately touched it.

What an interesting technique his students had combed to creation…

"**Guh, guh… foolish humans… such an attack... could defeat me…? What insolence…! I… I…" **the Lich was still alive, hovering with what strength was left inside him as the frosty flames seemed to extinguish rapidly, leaving nothing but charred bone.

"**Thank you…" **the undead said as he left his final breath, finally resting in peace after years of torment in the Lich King's grasp…

"Well done, combatants. It was an amazing melee, if I'm one to say." The death knight spoke as he neared them.

"Huh… yeah… they couldn't stand my… awesomeness could they…? Heh…" Naruto spoke, grinning widely. Then he collapsed.

Kakashi grabbed the blonde by the collar of his clothes, keeping him from meeting his face with the floor. The jounin sighed "He's been exerting himself all day… guess even a stamina monster can collapse, ne…?" he spoke more to himself rather to the others.

"So, warrior-san, what where these things, who the hell are you, and why is the whole place still creeping with zombies?" he gestured around with his head to the mindless minions that now staggered aimlessly around the gardens. With their master dead, these undead where free… free to live an eternity of nothingness, granted nobody killed them in the process.

"Leave these miserable creatures to me. As for what they are exactly, your student should be more than able to explain in detail. He's a paladin, after all." The man reached inside his pocket, bringing a scroll with a foreign insignia, one Kakashi didn't recognize.

"Give this to him when he wakes. Tell him that the invitation still stands." He said and picked up his blade once more. It was now that Kakashi really noticed the man's eyes… that strange hue they had…

"As I said, Naruto-san should be more than able to satisfy your curiosity. Now, if you'll excuse me…" and he was off cutting undead down around the gardens.

"Okay… so, what was that plant again?" his lone eye looked over the labyrinth he was trapped before, wondering what kind of enemies awaited him in the future… This world was already fucked up. Did they need more madness adding to it?

"Ohoho, what did we miss? And damn yer Poll, I told ye we should hurry!" he heard an eerily familiar voice. Turning around…

"They don't seem in that much need of assistance. Oh, is that Naruto? Is he injured? Gorley, tend to his wounds if you please." The tall man spoke and the dwarf grunted.

"What do I look like? A healer?"

"Yes."

"… damn freakin' frost mages thinking they can rule the world…" he stomped towards Kakashi who still held the blonde by the collar. "Give me that!" he said as he grabbed Naruto from the waist and put him with ease on his shoulder, walking a few steps away, mumbling something about mages being too overpowered against melee. Go figure.

"Ah, what marvelous carnage! I have to keep a record of this!" spoke Richard from beside them as he pulled a camera out of nowhere, taking pictures of the land-scape and close-ups on the undead corpses with an unsettling smirk on his face.

Poll sighed at his two peculiar teammates, one being a sadistic wizard and the other a drunkard of a paladin who couldn't stand rogues and mages for some reason.

"Excuse their behavior, but we have been travelling for a whole day to get here in time, decimated a bandit camp on the way and met a vampire dressed in red who was laughing for no apparent reason in the middle of the road, yelling that 'That was a good fight! Muahahaha!'. Did I mention his hand was cut off? No, I didn't. Anyways…" Poll took a deep breath. Kakashi stared at him.

"We're here to assist in any matter that may be at hand, and also deliver a message. I believe you to be most suitable to convey these words to the Hokage, Kakashi-san, since you seem experienced. I'll also be present to give the scroll of invitation in." Kakashi still stared at the man. And Poll began his little tale…

XxxxX

"So, what's going to happen with our manor now…?" Yozora spoke aloud as she watched over the field that was a battlefield only an hour prior.

"Well, for starters, get some new servants, since most of the old ones died in the attack, as sad as that is. These six over here will help with cleaning the grounds, and I believe a repairing touch would make the whole place look like grand-new!"

"Wait, what? Why do we have to do it?!" Sakura yelled at him.

"Shut your mouth little banshee, or I'll make you a minion." The death knight who they learned that went by the name Hakai, spoke. Sakura shivered, glared, then looked away, defeated.

"How come Naruto won't be helping?" Sasuke grunted in addition. He understood the situation, that didn't mean he had to like it.

"Naruto is exhausted from fighting nearly all day around, Sasuke. And besides, Hakai-san here has a useful spell that will help you all." He spoke and grinned widely.

"Have fun people." He said and vanished in a swirl of leafs…

All was silent for a moment…

"Ahem. So, what's that spell?" Sasuke asked, turning to the death knight. The man smirked, then rose his hand to the sky.

"GET TO WORK you maggots!" he roared. "**Army of the Dead"**

**XxxxX**

Incidentally, the cleaning of the mansion was mostly done by the group of undead Hakai summoned. They were one-eyed monsters with quite an agile body, being only a blur as they hoped around. Sakura and Miyako for one, could hardly look at them, since because they didn't blink, the monsters simply stared at you until they looked away. Sasuke was grossed out as well…

It felt strange, as to how the undead he battled before now seemed to help out. He really couldn't make the difference between a friendly undead and a hostile one. They all seemed like rotting freaks to be honest.

"Why would they attack here, Hakai-san? Why would these 'things' even exist here in the first place?" Sasuke asked, refraining from bending down to pick up a pair of intestines. He had seen corpses before, mutilated ones as well. That didn't mean he had to like it.

"Frankly, dear shinobi, I have little idea myself. I am a servant of the ebon blade from this world, which means I died here and became a death knight here. How he looks, what are his purposes and why, I do not know. All that Lord Darion tells any new recruits is that our only way to salvation from this cursed existence, is to end the Lich King. And I believe he is right. Look around you, boy." He motioned with his hands to the bloody corridors.

"The armies of the Lich King have butchered legions, leveled whole cities, decimated all life in three whole worlds. And they're going to go for more. What you see here, is an example. A warning." Bending down, the death knight picked up what seemed to be an amulet. Engraved it was, with the shapes of trees adorning its silver surface.

"Train hard, young one, train your mind and your body. Prepare yourself, prepare your comrades, steel your heart and let your soul shine brighter than a thousand suns."

"The tides of darkness are upon us. The assault on the Land of Waves seems to have already began. We will see more of them… and soon." He put the amulet in one of the pouches that hang from his belt and walked forward. Sasuke's eyes were wide as he watched the warrior march forth. The tides of darkness huh?

He smirked. How interesting…

XxxxX

**A/B: Ok, so it took some time to finish this, and it ain't even big! Sorry for the delay once more, but its just that my muse is playing tricks on me lately ;/ I think it'll take a chapter or two before I finish my version of the Wave Arc. Next chapter, we'll see some more of Hinata and company as well as some old school scenes from the oh so classic and overused Kishimoto-Wave theme. Have you noticed? It's been YEARS since those scenes where played, since Naruto began, and it seems ****just like yesterday when I started watching these series two years ago… its almost sad.**

**Now, on with the omake!**

_**Omake: Rap, rap SNAP!**_

"**Hey yo bro, it's Killer Bee ho!" **the tanned man rhymed, facing his opponent behind tinted sunglasses, inhaling another deep breath…

"**I'm a rapper, a rhyme creator, your obliterator, the milk in your coffee, the blood on your shirt, I'm the one and only, Killer Bee, yeah!" **he sang again and the crowd bellow him cheered in amazement, ecstatic at his too much for a mere mortal to understand singing. Bee gave a big bow before stepping backstage, letting the other participants of the contest take his place in a vain attempt to overpower his imbaness.

"Wow, Killer Bee-dono, that was amazing!" one of his co-workers and probable admirer squealed as she tried to latch herself on his muscled arm.

The man simply sidestepped, grinning with a thumps up.

"That's the Octopus for ya, the one and only, booyah!" he rhymed again and the others clapped, awed at his presence.

"_**The next combatant, a teenager coming from the land of Fire, a shinobi from Konohagakure itself! Please, welcome, the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki, Naruto Uzumaki!"**_

They heard the announcer yell and all were stunned for a moment. How could this…

An upbeat music began playing, a fast pace that probably only the best of rappers should be able to keep up to, as creating rhymes so fast out of nowhere was nearly impossible. For anyone.

"**Hey, hey, hey! How you doin' mate? Feeling up to the beat? Realizing the heat? You know you can't stand it so that's why I'm here****, the cooler of your brain, I'll make you disappear! Listen to my voice and get lulled to the heavens, that's why I'm here, to amend the shamers!" **Bee felt sweat began to form on the back of his neck. How could this boy be so good and fast? It couldn't be true! He was the greatest rapper of all times, damn it! There was no way a kid like that could surpass him!

Steeping up the scene, earning shocked reactions from the crowd and a wondering stare from Naruto, who was strangely enough, dressed in a hoody along with jeans, completed with a golden chain around his neck and sport shoes. Where the heck did he get this clothing?

Not wasting time, the tanned warrior-rhymer grabbed a microphone and began his own piece.

"**You think you're very great, speaking all those words, you think you can overtake, what was made by the Gods, but I swear here, right here and now, I'll pull you the earth, I'll strike you down!" **he spoke, making taunting gestures towards the blonde who now held a smirk over his face.

"**You be challenging me, nigga? 'Cause you just pulled the trigger. Prepare for decimation, you have no aggravation, I'll make you cry to your mama, spit blood and lots of karma!" **he taunted back, hopping in place like a practiced singer while he sang.

Bee felt a vein pop on his forehead, but didn't let his expression change.

"**I'll take those words and push them down your throat, I'll make you drink milk straight from a goat, I'll make you feel so gross and owned, you'll feel like a Romanian drinking tea!" **Bee felt like smacking himself in the face right then and there. How could he make such a mistake?

"**Bee-sama, you're just a big fool, thinking you can win against something this cool. So I'm gonna deliver, the finishing blow****, and without hesitation…" **he stopped for a moment, as if he had no more words to speak. Bee smirked at the huge mistake…

Before Naruto crossed his fingers.

"**HAREM NO JUTSU!"**

And before the experienced ninja could even blink, an army of blonde naked girls was upon him, molesting him till the world went black…

XxxxX

Bee woke with a startle, sweat running down his whole body as he took in his surroundings, realizing he was in his bedroom. Glad and relieved, the Hachibi Jin. sighed, thankful it was all a dream.

"Bee-sama, onegai, train me!" he heard a soft female voice whimper from his side and he turned to see the blonde pig-tailed woman of his nightmares starring at him with pleading blue eyes.

"Bee-sama, pretty pretty pweaaaaase??" he heard more pleading coming from his other side and was startled to see another copy of the woman. Soon the room was flooded with the moaning girls, Bee's expression remaining impassive as his mind chanted over and over again;

"_My life is so fucked up, my life is so fucked up… my life is still so fucked up…"_

XxxxX

**A/N: Inspired from the latest chapters of 'Naruto Shipuuden' xD**


	23. Chapter 23: Last Call

**A/N: ****Most of you who like and read The Ashbringer must have probably thought, "Where the hell is he?"**

**Well eyes, I'll only say one thing: School! It's my last year of school and the grades I score in the final tests will pretty much seal my future. Greece is a shitty country trying to get out of its shit, indeed we have great history and are a proud lot, but history and being proud ain't gonna feed yer mouth.**

**So, like every one else does, I've got to make a living once I graduate school and hopefully enter university, so until then, the time I can write is sadly, limited Q.Q**

**I'll be really happy to get a review from any 'old face' around Fanfiction, really missed ye guys, like Leaf Ranger or Bumblemark, it was so nice having you around in the past years, you're my online friends that kept me writing and inspired, I feel honored to have met authors and people of this caliber within the boundaries of this site.**

**I love you all guys Q.Q (and girls!)**

**So, without further ado! Theeee, STORY! -**

_**The Ashbringer: Shinobi of the Light**_

_**Chapter 23: Last Call**_

Hinata had little doubt in Naruto's abilities. As airheaded as he could be at times, he was still a focused ninja who kept his purpose in mind at all times, his friends and mission above all.

Yet she couldn't as much successfully shake the ominous feeling in her heart. Something, some kind of voice that she couldn't decipher, spoke to her of an encroaching darkness, an evil that crept on them silently, waiting for the right moment to unleash its mayhem.

Her uneasiness didn't go unnoticed by her teammates and her teacher, but they all dismissed it as probable nervousness from having her first real mission. Many genin went through that anyway. Hinata was still human, why wouldn't she too?

It had been a few days since they had parted ways with Team 7, and had yet to hear word from them. Hinata couldn't help but fear, since Naruto hadn't even given her a hint of his whereabouts through the bond they shared via the Light. That scared her more than anything else. It felt as if he wanted to keep his distance, as if he didn't want to contact her, to acknowledge she was there.

And deep in her heart, that hurt. The idea of Naruto's smile turned away from her stabbed her deeply. The idea of having him avoid her made her sick to her stomach. It was not a nice feeling to have when you tried to complete a mission.

So here they were, on Tazuna's still under construction bridge, the workers bustling around them with their work, hurriedly moving to finish the construction. It had become obvious at some point that what the people here did was a dangerous job, considering all the mercenary camps that were stationed around Wave at the moment. Team 8 had little idea what those mercenaries where asking for though. They seemed to just stand by, waiting for something…

None had informed them of what was going on though. They had little to no idea of what other opponents would lie before them on a later interval. The villagers, the workers, and Tazuna's family refrained from telling them much, as if in fear. Inari, the rebellious little boy himself wasn't talking about it, but Hinata had a feeling it was more in defiance, rather than fear like the others.

"Today, we are going to study walking on surfaces, like trees and water. You're all from respectable clans, so you must already have an idea of what I'm talking about, right?" Kurenai inquired at her team members, who all looked at each other before nodding their heads at her.

She nodded back "Let's see. Follow me." They walked down the bridge and onto the sandy shores. There were only a couple of columns procuring from the ground, the rest of them stretching into the waters of the sea. Kurenai stared at them, then nodded, satisfied, as she walked closer.

"I want you all to walk up these columns, one by one, up and down, till the last one that is still under construction." She pointed over yonder, to the last column that was midway to the other shore.

Kiba raised an eyebrow at her "But sensei, if we fail, won't we fall in the water?" he spoke and the red-eyed woman grinned at him.

"Of course. And that's something you'd rather avoid, no?" she pointed at the water again, where sharks seemed to be making circles as if in wait for an unlucky victim who would slip and fall into their territory.

Shino and Kiba both sweat-dropped, while Hinata sighed. She already knew those sharks where an illusion, Shino should know too. Kiba…

"You've got to be kidding me…" the Inuzuka whispered…

XxxxX

Alucard was the patient kind of vampire. When you lived for eternity, you did need patience after all. Otherwise, you're very probable to end up mad in a corner, and eventually die. Simple.

But of course, it also matters as to how one can define the word, 'patience'. By Alucard's standards, being patient meant getting yourself occupied whenever a strenuous or time-consuming occasion comes up. Such distractions could vary from staring at a wall, drinking wine flavored with a few drops of fresh blood, or outright mayhem filled with gore and destruction. The last activity just happened to be his favorite one too.

Nothing's better than to spread destruction on one boring summer day. Good times.

Night was already creeping on the land, he could already make out the twinkling stars of the sky, those vibrant gleams that hazily occupied the space of nothingness that resided up there. He couldn't help the grin that spread on his face as he remembered his latest opponent, an armored undead man, who surprisingly was neither vampire nor a mindless ghoul, who had even managed to best him! Him! Of all people!

But, it had also been day time and the vampire lord hadn't even gone all out. It would be a waste of his reserves whatsoever. Still, it was impressive that a fellow being of darkness could defeat him, even in that slackened state.

He had lost a lot of blood in the fight, blood he would have to replenish soon. So what would be for dinner? His cute little mistress that probably patiently waited for him in their makeshift hideout or, maybe a random human? He pondered on the decision… virgins tasted best among humans, but a mate's blood was also quite satisfying… and arousing. In a sense.

So there you had it! A couple of humans, at least one of them a woman virgin, and then some of that delightful blood of hers for dessert! Oh, how he loved making dinner plans! Passionate nights usually ensued right after they had both eaten whatsoever. He liked these kind of nights.

Having forgotten about one of the greatest fights of his life for the moment, Alucard rose from the ground on which he had been sitting for the past hours, stretching his healed limbs and dusting his red clothes off. His hat had been shredded during the fight. He would have to get a new one tailored.

While they had been in these lands for a while, Alucard and Seras still had a tough time negotiating with the natives. The language was foreign, and while the vampire lord was familiar with standard Japanese, he still had a hard time with the dialect people used here. (A/N: Let's all remember that Hellsing takes place in Great Britain, not Japan, even though the original anime/manga is Japanese born .)

The humans here couldn't be the same from his own world… there was something different in them, something bitter yet sweet altogether mixed in the taste of their blood. Alucard had also many a times crossed paths with a strange pack of these humans, one that had much more enhanced perception and combat abilities, all wore some kind of band at their arms or forehead, and could use a strange kind of magic he had come to recognize as 'Jutsus', techniques, when translated.

These humans tasted the best… the fighters, that was.

There was something so soft in their blood, so energetic and rejuvenating, that it made the blood he had back in London seem tasteless and mundane.

He had soon come to realize it was probably because of the special attributes the humans here had. One of them was this… 'chakra'. He had heard of this thing in various Asian religions back in Earth, something about the inner flow of power one had or something? He had dismissed it as ridiculous since he had examined the human body over and over himself. There was no chakra in there, not physically, not emotionally, not even in the taste of their blood.

But here, here it was different. Chakra actually existed, it was a fluid power within the body of humans, dormant in civilians and active in fighters, flowing like endless rivers within one's body. It was what gave their blood this special, delightful flavor. It was what made him thirst for their blood all the more.

He had also realized that the more chakra, the more powerful the fighter was, the better he tasted. More chakra meant more flavor and smoothness in the blood. He had only once tasted the blood of a powerful… shinobi, as they called them here. It was… an ecstasy. He felt like he wanted to drink and drink till he would explode! Well, even if that did actually happen, his body would reform anyway.

As he swiftly moved through the forest, his figure only a shadow among the darkness, Alucard soon smelled the by now all so familiar aroma of a human's life essence. His speed was matching that of a trained speed shinobi specialist, if greater. When he was fed? He was stupidly strong. When his seals where released? He was unstoppable.

So it came as no surprise as every single shinobi and civilian he met proved to be little to no amusement. And it proved a great surprise and pleasure to realize there where actual beings in this world that would challenge him. It brought shivers down his spine.

Stopping behind a tree, right at the edge of the campfire, Alucard estimated the situation. Four humans, all dressed in light dark clothing with green vests over their torso, one man and three women. Their headbands had the insignia of the Leaf on them… not that he cared much. As much as he had learned about the various shinobi villages of this land, he had no intention of proving loyalties to any of them. Alucard despised being the slave of a human. He loathed being ordered around.

Intergral Hellsing? Well, that woman deserved his respect. When he worked for her, he didn't do so because of obligation. It was just his amusement over such a strong-spirited human and the respect he had for her courage. She was one unique human among millions. Oh, he did forget the seals she had put on him though. Not that they worked now. He could release and reseal them as he pleased. It was handy.

He could easily make out every sound the humans made, every breath they drew, every beat of their heart. It was all so pleasant to him, so inviting…

How he would enjoy this! The women where all young and untainted, probably not even twenty years of age! The man was not much older, but his reserves on chakra where adequate, a pleasant meal he would be as well.

Alucard didn't hesitate to be cautious, though. He had learned that his prey, fragile as it could be, was also very perceptive, close to his own kind even. They could make out small sounds, their eyes could be sharp and all-seeing.

But that usually wasn't a problem. Alucard was a vampire. He was as silent as a leaf that touched the forest's ground, faster than the howling wind and stronger than a mammoth. These were flies. These were his dinner.

So, without further ado, Alucard dived in…

XxxxX

As Kiba fought fiercely against the imaginary sharks, Hinata, Kurenai and Shino sipped peacefully at their teas while watching their teammate struggle in the water for no apparent reason.

"I suggest we should tell him?" Shino spoke up after another moment of silence.

"Nah, he's fun to look at." Kurenai smiled at them both before turning to look back at her student. It was hilarious, really. And a little sad too.

Kurenai was not surprised that Shino and Hinata had made the exercise look like a breeze, while Kiba had such a hard time with it. Both of them were from clans that specialized in utilizing chakra in every part of their body, Shino with his bugs and Hinata with the Jyuuken. Hinata especially had caught up on the spot, since she was already used in expelling chakra in certain quantities from a specific part of their body.

It had taken Kurenai a week to get this right, if she remembered correctly. She was certainly proud of her students, if only a little jealous too. They had fared better than she had at their age… far better.

But it was no use to mop around about someone being better than you even when that someone was of a younger age. Kurenai had her chance. How she had used it, was her memory and burden to hold.

The younger generation of Konoha seemed promising in many things. The graduates of this year's Genin tests were all splendid shinobi with far better skills than seasoned Genin. It was her privilege and honor to be the teacher of one of these young groups, even if she was a fresh Jounin herself.

She had to be vigilant for her students, keep up the image of a strong and capable teacher. That was also one of her duties as an instructor. To protect their dreams…

Out of her musings she was as she noticed Kiba try to scale the columns once again, with a bit more of success before slamming back into the cold waters and cursing at himself and at the column as he got out.

The rash and crude way Kiba handled his own chakra had to be fixed before the boy had any chance to use it at any level of precision. She sighed, as chakra control exercises never were an enjoyable thing, and especially for the thin patience of Kiba, it would be torture.

Shrugging lightly at herself, she guessed it would be ok in the end. They had to be able to withstand torture, being shinobi and all.

XxxxX

"Another crispy day of labor, I would dare to guess?" the sleek tone of his words made him want to throw the mug of beer he held in his hand right at his head, and with any luck, it would lop that thing off and give them a few minutes of peacefulness at least.

Then again, it would be a shame to waste such good beer.

Gorley gulped down the contents of his mug in one go, then threw the empty item at the warlock's head. Richard incinerated it with a move of his finger, burning it to ashes.

"Will you shut yer trap? You're making me beer taste bad." Gorley complained.

"That was my purpose in life from the beginning, yes." Richard nodded and smiled happily.

"Ya know I hate undead scum like ye, don't cha, warlock?" the paladin reached for his mace, eyes glinting at the bony man.

"I rest assured thinking that one of my companion adores me. Indeed, my dreams of mayhem and slaughter are not deemed one bit from your frothing rage against me, thank you very much, oh so dear, loveable squishy dwarf." Richard concluded his little charade with a pat on Gorley's head.

The result was pretty simple, with Gorley swinging his mace around trying to smash Richard's head in, and the warlock running with a grin of glee on his face, mocking even further "Can't we all, just get along?"

Poll sighed from the side, as this regular occurrence was nothing more than an annoyance to him. Richard just loved to tease Gorley, and the dwarf of course hated it. There are very few insults that can actually pierce a dwarf.

One: Insulting one's taste in beer is even worse than mocking his mother.

And two: Their height. If you _ever _compare them to a gnome or think them inferior for any reason, you have another thing coming. And it will bite you. Hard.

"So, what brilliant plan has our mage friend thought up?" Poll was a little surprised to find Richard suddenly next to him, holding his head under his armpit.

Ignoring the apparently dismembered warlock, Poll just gazed forward again. They had been dealing with situations such as this for some time now, taking out small Cult groups here and there.

It had become pretty clear to all that were concerned that the Lich King was not yet ready for his assault. If he had been, this world would already be lost. The fact that he had to prepare his machinations and set up his footholds before marching forward, was the decisive factor in the little time a world had to prepare.

Poll had been to two of the great wars: One in Azeroth, the other in Outland, were even the corpses of slain demons could be very handy, and very powerful, minions.

Azeroth had held out for three years. With the defeat of the Argent Crusade at the battle for Icecrown Citadel and the loss of Tirion Fordring, the armies of Arthas rose and marched forth through the corpses of the fallen. The king of the dead had taken it as a grave insult to his might, that Tirion had made it this far within his hold. The result was, well, all life in Northrend was decimated in a matter of weeks.

With the main bulks of armies from both the Horde and the Alliance slaughtered in the north, there were very few left to defend their homes from the coming waves of death.

The continent of Kalimdor had held out for two years. With both factions joining forces in the brink of extinction, Orgrimmar, the home city of the Orcs, had been the staging point, and the final defense, for all life in that continent. The five races, Orcs, Draenei, Night Elfs, Trolls and Tauren had held out within the city for one year, resupplied by precious zeppelins that were defended by tooth and nail.

Poll himself, along with Gorley, had fought at the defense of Stormwind, the last bastion of life on the planet. The once tranquil Elwyn forest, right outside the city, had turned into a twisted visage of what it once was with the coming of the Scourge.

Peaceful farms folk were turned into vicious monsters from the reach of the plague. It was only a month and a half until Stormwind itself crumpled under the weight of Arthas's heal.

At the top of the Keep, within the royal chamber, Arthas had dueled against King Varian. Even without the Ashbringer of Tirion to aid him, Varian Wrynn was a powerful opponent, one of the best warriors the world had ever produced.

Sadly, none knew of the outcome of that battle. To be more precise, the leaders of each race were never found, neither as corpses, nor as minions to Arthas. It was as if they had, vanished.

Poll still remembered the horrors of that day…

XxxxX

"Gorley! Gorley, where are you!" He screamed, hoping in vain that his voice would reach out through the countless other screams that were filling the air with horror and blood.

How had they not seen that? Members of the Cult of the Damned right within their folds, traitors, beasts…

Arthas himself was now marching the Valley of Heroes, the statues of the lost, once aspiring leaders and champions of the Alliance now crumbling as if mere dust they were.

Poll could see it… those eyes that emanated the chill of doom… that coldness that seemed to surround him… the mage wondered just how Tirion Fordring had even mustered the nerve to face him, let alone fight.

Poll knew a lot about Frost spells, magic that when woven could keep your opponent stationary or freeze him to death if you so wished. Ice, while of a more defensive nature, was very versatile and handy.

Yet the cold Arthas emanated was unworldly, it was as if death itself was staring you in the face and was gripping your soul right out of your mouth. Painfully.

Poll felt his heart jump in his mouth as a ghoul was staring right into his face, as if gazing at him in wonder.

Before he could even utter a word for his next spell though, a mace smashed the undead into a heap of bones and rotten flesh on the ground.

"What the hell are you staring off into space for, ye pansy! Now we fight! Now we party!" Gorley shouted as he gulped down a mug of beer filled to the bream in one go, threw the mug aside, and began smashing through the ranks of the undead as if it was a walk in the park.

Paladins were… unique, when it came to face undead off. The Light gave them a protection and power over such foes that Poll would never probably understand.

But he wasn't one to sit idle and watch his friend fight. With renewed courage, Poll weaved through his next spell…

A hail of ice crystals began to fall like a halo upon the undead, smashing some, freezing some, cutting others in half. Few seemed to be resilient to his frost magic whatsoever.

Many a times Poll had wondered why Gorley became a paladin instead of a warrior. His temperament, short fuse and boiling lust for beer and battle where very Warrior-like. Paladins where known for compassion, wisdom, patience, and a strong sense of justice. Gorley had… very little of every one of these traits.

He didn't fight undead 'cause it was his duty to the Light. He did so because he just loved killing things. The fact that they were evil made it easier for his conscience too.

Calling forth a quick blast of fire, Poll blew off another ghoul that made an attempt to reach him. Raising a barrier of ice around himself, he prepared the incantation that would become a blast…

"Gorley, get out of there!" He ordered as he held the magical powers in place, ready to unleash the spell as if letting out a breath of his own.

"Ye can't kill me with those stupid spells of yers even if you tried Poll, muahahah!" the dwarf laughed heartily as he jumped into another group of undead.

Poll grinned at himself, even though through all this mayhem none would probably notice.

"Very well. Here I go." And with a movement of his hands torrents of flame broke and rose through the ground, burning everything they touched to crisps, a raging inferno that lasted for several seconds before dissipating in the wind…

Gorley stepped out of the fire, completely unscathed, as the shield around him faded.

"You're making me waste my powers, you know that?" There was a certain time interval before a paladin could call upon his Divine Shield whatsoever.

"I should be the one complaining about that." Poll laughed, then felt a puncture at his shield as a golem stitched from flesh and several corpses strung together struck down on him. The barrier held, but would not do so the next time.

Poll called upon his magic and disappeared just in the nick of time as the huge butcher knife the monster held came crashing down to cut him in half. Reappearing behind the beast in the blink of an eye, Poll froze the ground underneath the creature, making it slippery enough for the oversized monster to crash helplessly.

Gorley soon came into the picture as he smashed the monster's head with his hammer, blood and brains splattering everywhere. Not a beautiful sight, by any means.

The paladin squinted his eyes, nodding at his friend as he saw one of the officer's fall in battle against a group of ghouls. Not wasting time, Gorley smashed shoulder first through the small battalion, throwing some of them into the river, knocking others down.

Poll was fast to aid as he began throwing fireballs at the monsters, using all the power his skills were able to master. With both their hands bathed in the dark blood of their opponents, Poll stood before the paladin and the fallen officer, calling upon the elements…

Much like a shaman, who where attuned to the elements more than anyone else, mages also had the ability to summon a specific type of water elemental. Although the form the elemental would take differed from mage to mage, the summoning spell was always the same.

So Poll called upon his trusty minion, and the force of nature was quick to comprehend the situation through its master, taking on a very dragon like form and freezing the oncoming hordes of undead in place, hopefully long enough for Gorley to finish his job.

As for the paladin, he stood behind, his only defense his one friend, as he began to channel the spell of 'Redemption'.

Gorley never was a true believer of the Light. He was never the scholar type who would spent weeks in the library studying about it, he was never one to selflessly help the poor or save someone in need. Most of the time, he was the same greedy dwarf who loved to get drunk.

Yet the Light was strong in him. Few where the paladins who could master the spell of 'Redemption', one that required precise attunement with the holy so that one could bring a soul back into the mortal coil and away from the edge of oblivion.

Gorley was one of those paladins. Poll wasn't well versed in matters of religion, but he knew that his friend actually had something special, even if he was a drunkard.

As he finished the incantation, brilliant light shone to the heavens as the corpse of Jonathan Mellow, a Lieutenant and veteran of the Second War, rose from the ground shakily.

"Wh… what the… I was… resurrected?" Jonathan looked around him, finding himself back within the hell he had left behind.

Gorley saw that primitive fear in the eyes of the man.

"Believe me mate, had I not resurrected you, you'd probably be one of these shits in a few minutes." He said, kicking a ghoul's head away to make a point. Jonathan gulped as he reached down for his sword.

"They're going to break free Gorley, hurry it up!" Poll yelled as he kept blasting and freezing as many of them as he could before they were released.

"Grab yer blade and slash some fuckers, that I say mate." Gorley nodded as Jonathan gripped his blade hard, tears pooling at his eyes.

"For Stormwind." Jonathan whispered, clinging to his courage.

"Aye. For the Alliance."

The undead had broken through the ice…

XxxxX

"Hinata, hurry, we're going to be late for dinner!" Kiba yelled as the girl hurriedly gathered the pick-nick items they had brought along and enjoyed. Well, Kiba was much more occupied with mastering the chakra clinging exercise, while she, Shino and Kurenai took their sweet time drinking tea at the beach.

"_Oh, but don't think I forgot about you two. You'll have something even better waiting to greet you tomorrow morning." _Kurenai had said with an overly sweet smile that made even Shino twitch.

Hinata gathered the items within a blanket, closed it up and sealed it with a binder and holstered it on her shoulders. It wasn't heavy. Not at all. Well, to a civilian girl, it might have been, but she wasn't a civilian.

As she walked behind her teammates, who more like argued about something rather than conversed, the girl couldn't help the feeling that crept at the pit of her stomach. It felt as if something was… approaching. It was cold… and dark, like mist in a moonless night… It was at times like this that Hinata hated being attuned to the Light. It made her even more sensitive to evil, in any form that it could hold, be it a drunken man with malicious thoughts that stepped by her, or an assassin prepared to murder his next victim in cold blood.

One couldn't say that it was like… predicting the future or anything of the like. It was a feeling, like when one for some strange reason thinks of a person and when he turns around, said person just walks by. The fact that she couldn't tell exactly what she felt was, made her even more uneasy about it.

She just wished that Naruto could be here… maybe he could ease her distressed thoughts…

She shook her head, taking that train of thought out of her mind. She couldn't always rely on Naruto. She had to be strong on her own, when it mattered. She had to stand her ground and unleash her own strength and potential.

A part of her was afraid to reach for that potential… and the sacrifices it could mean.

XxxxX

Before long they had arrived at Tazuna's home, where Tsunami was finishing the preparations for dinner. Hinata was quick to assist the woman, even though she protested against it, saying how improper it would be for guests to do the work.

"Don't worry, Tsunami-san. I… I really like… umm, cooking…" Hinata blushed a slight color of red. It wasn't unusual for a ninja to know how to cook, many lived on their own and were forced to have such knowledge. Still, young Hinata couldn't help but blush as she revealed one of her favorite hobbies.

Tsunami let a kind smile rise on her face

"Ok, sweetie, could you cut and boil the potatoes then, please?" She spoke with her smooth, reassuring voice. Hinata's blush receded a little, the girl nodding as she set her mind on the task at hand, rather than the eyes of her teammates.

"Hinata can cook?" Kiba blinked, Shino staring at him from behind his glasses.

"It would be assumed that you would already know such a fact about your teammate already." He said, his whole body posture impassive, as was his neutral voice.

"Hey! Not even you know what I like and dislike! We've been a team for what, a couple of months?"

"To be more accurate, it has been one month, twenty three days and… should I count the hours in as well?" Kiba's jaw slacked, not only at his precision, but at the fact that he spoke all that as if it was completely natural.

"As for your own hobbies, Kiba, you like taking Akamaru for walks, play around in the parks with him, feed the Inuzuka hounds, as well as train with your own companion and us. You admire and respect strength, be it in combat or knowledge, and you hold a great dislike for any kind of felines, as well as flees." Shino pushed his dark glasses back, Kiba's jaw now having touched the floor.

"Hey, hey, how the hell do you know all that?" he pointed an accusing finger to his teammate, who simply shrugged.

"I have had one of my bugs accompany all of you from the very first day we formed a team."

"Isn't that incursion of privacy?" Kurenai was impressed that Kiba knew that word.

"I prefer to call it, 'informative surveillance'." Shino shrugged again "You never know when one of you might go missing. Better safe than sorry, I would guess." Pushing his sunglasses back, Shino walked to the table, carefully took them off, then put them inside his pocket. Even though the Aburame would wear those things even in a pitch black night, he always took them off when he ate. Always.

Strange habits, one could say?

Dinner was quite uneventful at the beginning of that night. Shino, Hinata and Kurenai took their meals quietly while Kiba was practically shoving everything down his throat.

One thing Tazuna's family seemed to be lucky about, was their financial stability, in contradiction with the rest of Wave. Tazuna, having quite the work to do as a bridge builder in a land full of rivers and generally water, was one of the few lucky enough to not starve to death day in and day out.

"How is the bridge going, Tazuna-san?" Kurenai inquired. She could see with her own eyes that the construction was more than half-way done, but being no engineer herself, she had little knowledge on any precision.

"Fairly well, I can say. Thanks to you and your team, Kurenai-san, the workers work resting assured about enemies. It makes it far easier to work with a group that has a stable mind, I must say." Tazuna said with a small, thankful grin towards the ninja. It had always been a pain to deal with fearful and distracted workers whatsoever.

"That sounds good. Gives ourselves time to prepare as well." Kurenai nodded, determined to strengthen her students for the fights ahead.

Momochi Zabuza was bound to strike at some point once more. And when he did, Team 8 would be prepared.

XxxxX

Regarding the rogue ninja, he sat on top of a tall tree, amused at the sight before him to no end.

There, down in the small village rummaged around a group of Kiri shinobi. The village was ruined, flames still ablaze from the fresh razing that had probably occurred. Too bad he wasn't there to enjoy some of it as well.

Zabuza gripped his zanbato, unsheathing the great-sword with ease. These Chuunin from Mist should have the information he sought…

The rogue took on a stance, right on top of the tree, putting his blade backwards and preparing for his ranged first blow…

With practiced precision and inhuman strength, Zabuza threw his zanbato at the oblivious ninja who kept rummaging around. The sword whirled soundlessly in the air as it reached its target...

The nin hadn't realized a thing before his head was lopped off with ease, leaving his bloody body to drop lifelessly to the ground, the sword that killed him impeding itself in the soft ground, making barely a sound.

The other two dismissed the duo of thuds as ruins peeling off, keeping up to their scavenging.

Zabuza smirked behind the bandages of his face as he run through familiar seals.

"**Kirigakure no jutsu…" **he whispered and mist began to form out of nowhere, engulfing the area within a matter of seconds.

The two nin, familiar with the comings and goings of the misty nature of their homeland, knew that this was no normal cloud. Alarmed, they both drew their weapons, whispering to each other's radio.

"Kamu! Answer me, Kamu!" one of them whispered loudly as he held a wakizashi in front of him, his eyes nervously glancing around.

"He's probably already dead. Stay altert." His more pessimistic teammate estimated with a cold, calculative voice. It didn't help calm his nerves one bit.

"Dead? What do you mean, dead? It's a damn scavenging mission! We're…"

"Shut up and watch your surroun…" his words were cut off abruptly as he heard his last teammate chocking on something, almost gurgling. He knew that sound, having witnessed it before on one of his own victims.

Someone had stabbed his teammate in the neck… a merciless kill that let someone bleed to death and simultaneously choke from lack of air. It was painful…

Sweating, fearful, shaking, he wondered how the hell such a simple mission had them all killed all of a sudden. Shinobi life was never for him, damn, he prayed to whatever God there was up there that he would still have a chance to go back home and give his mother an enormous hug before he died too.

"How boring. Genin would have put up a better fight than you three." He heard a voice all of a sudden speak into his ear. Panicked, he turned around quickly, slicing at the empty air.

"W-w-who the hell are you?" he stumbled on his own words as his heart clenched.

A low, dark chuckle penetrated the air.

"Tell me, what information do you have from the north, Kiri no shinobi?" the voice seemed to come from everywhere, intimidating the frail man even more.

"W-what are you talking about?" he quivered, grabbing at the kunai in his hand like a lifeline.

"Don't play fool with me, if you value your life that is…" the voice held just a little bit of malice. "It is widely known across Wave that Hidden Mist has been mobilizing troops to the northern regions… I want to know why." Zabuza's voice didn't ask. It demanded.

The nin shook violently "W-we don't really know! I-I mean, it's no normal enemy! They're not shinobi, nor samurai nor bandits! Their chakra is said to be dark and thick, their appearance deathly a-and, and, they can command corpses to battle! That's all I know, really! Mist is on the defensive right now!" he blurted hastily, hoping to ease the assailant. He could hear his humming into the mist.

"Is that so? What an interesting occasion… maybe I should pay a visit." Zabuza's voice sounded satisfied at the thought of an impending slaughter.

"But first…" and without a second word, the zanbato of the swordsman found its way through the wary nin's heart, then sliced upwards, mercilessly chopping the man into pieces.

Zabuza delighted at his little handiwork, then moved forward, to the battles of the north…

XxxxX

Gorley was never the conversational type, even when he was drunk. Right now though, he really wished he had a beer with him, but sadly, he had depleted his stock on the way here.

Couldn't someone invent a beer that never ended? Hell, alchemists had invented potions that never ended! Why would it be so hard with beer?

The group of bizarre warriors had joined with Team 7 on their journey to the south, where Team 8's mission would probably wait for assistance. Poll had been very reluctant to keep company to the ninjas, for reasons said group couldn't understand, yet obliged to it when Richard threatened to strip.

Hakai, the death knight who had aided them in the defense of the manor, was bewildered to notice the various plants that adorned the garden before their departure. Most of them humongous in size and quite hostile, the man was bewildered as to why such a family would have things like these, in their garden nonetheless. Yozora was kind enough to explain that they acted as guardians of the household, a trap for trespassers. That would explain the lack of guards, really.

Many of those plants had been infected with the Plague during the march of the scourge forces here, so Naruto and Gorley took it on themselves to heal and reinforce them to be resilient to illness. Both the plants and their owners were happy and glad for that.

"Not bad, and here I thought you were a waste o'breath. Phew, now I'm relieved." Gorley comically wiped his brow, earning a slightly ticked off Naruto, who didn't hesitate to glare at his fellow paladin.

"Will you ever shut that mouth of yours? I swear you're making me want to smite you." Naruto's hand glowed in golden power, at which Gorley frowned at, more disappointed than anything else, then looked back at the blonde's face.

"What? That's all the power you can muster? My grandpa could do more than that!" he laughed heartily, a raspy, deep sound that was common to the liquor loving dwarfs that hailed from Ironforge. Well, all dwarves loved liquor, but that was beyond the point.

"Don't push it, plush doll…" Naruto grunted to himself, not wanting to initiate a fight, letting the power in his hand flow away.

He didn't make another step forward as Gorley's mace smashed right where his head would be a moment later. Cold sweat began to pour down Naruto's face like a waterfall as he carefully turned to the dwarf, smiling awkwardly.

To say that Gorley was mad, would be an understatement. To hell if this kid was the Ashbringer or not. No one, and he meant, _NO ONE, _ever made fun of his height and lived to tell the tale… without limbs broken off.

There were two insults that could make a dwarf want to kill you, and believe me when I say that he would succeed.

One: Their height. Should someone be careless enough to underestimate them for their lack of it, well… it would be painful.

Two: Their beards. Insult their beards and it would be ever perilous, for insulting a dwarf's beard, a sign of honor and pride, was worse than spitting on their mother. Which isn't a good thing to do in general.

So, with eyes blazing full of fury and hands crackling with the might of the Light, Gorley glared hard at the blonde boy.

"You. Me. Now. I lose, and I shave me beard. You lose, and you hand over that sword of yers." He growled and Naruto gulped, then took a step back.

"Whoa, whoa, hold on, one comment and you're like that? I mean, ok, ok, but, Ashbringer over a stupid bea…" Poll pulled him towards him before he could finish his sentence, while the rest of the group watched in faint amusement, Richard happy at the chance for blood to show.

"A dwarf's beard is their honor, Naruto. His own sacrifice over this little duel is near equal to your own." He whispered to the boy and pushed him back towards the awaiting dwarf.

Naruto had little time to block as Gorley's mace came for him again, smashing against the glittering metal of the Ashbringer.

Kakashi rose his nose from the Icha Icha copy he was reading to speculate the circumstances, and after much, sophisticated and mature thought…

"Let's sit back and enjoy the show." He said, jumping on a nearby tree branch and sitting down in the most comfortable position he could.

They still had time before the sun set or they reached any civilization for that matter. The rest of Team 7 abandoned the road and jumped on the branch their teacher sat on, Richard not so keen with tree climbing and deciding to just summon a throne made of bones at the side to accommodate himself.

Poll simply sighed and shook his head.

Naruto grunted at the weight of his opponent's weapon. The sortie was freakishly strong… more blows like these and his hands would go numb, making them useless.

Gorley didn't relent as he threw a hammer of Judgment on Naruto, which against the blonde, to very much his surprise, was launched with only one hand, and even as he tried to move, the attack followed and slammed into him painfully.

It was at that simple point that Naruto realized the canyon that separated their skill over the Light. Where Naruto needed to drop his weapon and smash that golden hammer on his opponent in order to judge, Gorley could do so from a distance and even make his hammer a _homing _one.

But he was not one to give up easily either.

Summoning a hammer of Light of his own, Naruto un-summoned his blade and charged the dwarf, all the while creating four shadow clones to help confuse his opponent.

Gorley didn't even flinch as his glare saw through the façade. With practiced ease the seasoned paladin swirled around in a whirlwind of light that made short work of the clones, as well as slammed Naruto away, crushing and bending a whole tree, the blonde having taken a full blow from the sudden attack.

Naruto wiped the drip of blood from his mouth as he too now glared at his opponent. How the hell had he done that? Naruto only knew how to unleash the Light in a condensed form, hammer like most of the time, not the seer unleash of power Gorley just now had used.

He remembered his lessons with Tirion, how his mentor could utilized the Light in a similar way, creating waves of power rather than concentrated attacks.

Naruto gripped the Ashbringer once more and charged, this time Gorley making a whole whirl as his weapon glowed with power, slamming into the flat edge of Naruto's sword while he parried.

The nin paladin was yet again surprised as the mere force of the attack was enough to lunch him into another tree.

Poll, as he watched from the side, run his palm across his face at the sight of his friend. He knew that Gorley was anything but serious, for if he was, Naruto would long now be dead. The dwarf was testing him, and the only reason he put such high stakes in this ridiculous duel was to push the blonde even more.

It was weird after all, how suddenly, out of only a rude comment, such a fight would occur. Poll smirked to himself, as Gorley seemed to have planned this since long ago, seeking any chance to jump on, even a stupid one.

"Did I miss something?" The death knight's unique voice was easy to discern, and Poll turned to watch the knight walk up to him while staring at Naruto's trembling form, the boy trying to stand up, his whole body aching from the force Gorley was hitting him with.

Naruto knew very well that if another blow like that landed, he was done for.

"Where had you been anyway?" Poll asked the death knight, who's glowing gaze lifted from the duelers to stare at the mage before him.

"Patrol of the perimeter. We have information that the Scourge has been quite active on this land. Its remoteness from the rest of the world, as well as its already secluded nature, would make a very strong breeding and staging point for the Lich King's armies on this world. This must not come to pass." Hakai stood silent for a moment, then grunted to himself, then turned around to watch the fight. Poll, all the while listening, was bewildered, unsettled, curious, but not one to pry a death knight on information, even one as kind and formal as Hakai was.

Back to the fight, Gorley was slowly approaching the younger paladin.

"That's that all you can do, runt?" he spat on the ground "You're a shame to the Light and a shame of a paladin. I can't even understand what ol' Tirion saw in ye." Gorley did another whirl and slammed his mace into Naruto's parrying blade. The blonde, this time though, instead of being thrown away, stood his ground firmly. Gorley was mildly impressed. "Give up the Ashbringer, kid. You're not worth such an honor." He spoke.

Eyes as blue as the sky glared up at him, filled with determination.

Kakashi, as well as his students, where slightly taken aback from the fierce look in Naruto's eye. Never had the blonde looked so vigilant, not even at the fight for the mansion.

Gorley almost didn't parry, due to his surprise, as Naruto jumped in the air and slashed the Ashbringer downwards, the dwarf bringing his mace vertically before him to parry.

The explosion of power pushed Gorley back a few meters. He smirked, interested that he managed to pick on some nerves.

"Don't you ever, question Tirion-sensei!" Naruto howled as he launched the Ashbringer towards Gorley, a move the older paladin didn't expect at all. After all, paladins rarely fought without their weapons.

Sidestepping the deadly steel, he wandered what Naruto had in store next…

A hail of shuriken and kunai rained down on him and Gorley had to ungracefully jump out of the way to avoid the attack. Eyes wide, he watched Naruto reach for more throwing blades into the pouches on his hips.

It was a mistake of him to forget that he also fought against a ninja, not only a paladin.

More blades came and this time Gorley raised a shield to defend himself from the hail. Naruto's eyebrow quirked, realizing it wasn't the Divine Shield he was using, but a weaker, fainter version of it, which still had the ability to absorb damage.

Gorley was briefly bathed in Light as he cast a minor healing spell on himself to shake some stress off.

Naruto crossed his fingers in a familiar seal as he summoned a dozen clones, enough to fill up the road like a parade was on the move.

Each of the clones brandished the Ashbringer, and each of them wore the determined expression the original had.

"We will show you…" one of them spoke.

"Just who you're messing with!" they all screamed and rushed at Gorley, who stood there, impressed and waiting.

The blast of light as the clones came within striking range, luckily left none of them blind…

XxxxX

"How… interesting." Zabuza muttered to himself as he watched the newcomers loiter about. It was strange that another cult had popped up out of nowhere, very similar to the one with that God of death that his name he didn't care to remember.

And now it seemed that another one of those stupid dark religions was blooming here, in the Land of Waves.

Before him lied a fully factional camp, supplies stored under purple color tents, some kind of strangely shaped bombs lying in an organized pile in the center of the camp, while the commanding tent seemed to be placed on the northern part of the establishments.

Zabuza was impressed. The guards wore some freakish plate armor and wielded swords he hadn't seen before, very much like samurais yet nothing like them. They each stood at least two feet tall and their icy blue eyes scanned their surroundings, as if intent on freezing them simply by glaring.

This… would be so much fun.

The nuke nin formed hand seals, a dark smirk crossing his features.

"Kirigakure no jutsu…" he whispered to himself and the familiar to him mist began to materialize around the camp…

The guards didn't bunch an inch at the encroaching mist, which left Zabuza even more impressed at their lack of fear, or at least a shiver from the cold.

With stealth only he could master in this concealing mist, Zabuza lopped both their heads off with a swing of his sword…

The bodies slammed on the ground noisily, and the nin stepped back, vanishing as if he was the mist itself…

Someone that had heard the clatter of armor walked up to the fresh corpses, examining them peculiarly, strangely not abated by the sight of the slaughter. With a tired sigh, the man took one of the chopped heads and placed it back on the corpse's shoulder…

He started to whisper, a chant that Zabuza could hear yet not understand a word of. The lopped head began to stitch itself back on the body, and the nin's eyes grew wide at the sight of the guard he had just killed being brought back to life, shaking his head as if to ward off a headache.

Not intent on letting him resurrect the other one again, Zabuza dove from the mist, embedding a kunai in both their heads before a word could be uttered. The guard fell on the floor, dead once again, while the other one bled beside him.

Now knowing to be more careful, the nin chopped their heads off once more, this time using a weak fire jutsu to burn them to ashes, making sure they would not be able to come after him in the future.

With stealth and precision Zabuza investigated the camp, invisible in the thick mist, taking down whomever had the chance to catch a glimpse of him and heading straight for what seemed to be the commanding tent.

There, right inside the large temporary housing, Zabuza saw a trio of men, all clad in what looked like heavy armor, very unlike a samurai's but surely plate wear, talk in a language he couldn't understand. Bewildered, as the languages used around the Elemental Nations where few and their variations even fewer, the nin was intrigued to know that what they spoke was definitely not Japanese…

Since he couldn't understand them, there was little point in eavesdropping, until…

"… And you think this will work? Our enemies are formidable, Thassarian! The Scourge will not back down so easily! We have fought them countless times, we have been fighting them for years, you and I both know this ain't gonna work!" one of them spoke in outrage, his head shaved free of any hair, his face marked with strange blade like tattoos and his eyes the cold glowing teal the guards had possessed as well.

Zabuza found it strange that he understood them at the given moment.

Thassarian, one carrying dual blades on his back, his eyes a silvery hue different from that of his comrades and his hair a silver color that reached his shoulders, walked up and down in thought.

The third party of the gathering seemed to be the quiet one, carrying a massive contraption of what looked like a sword on his back despite his thin looking frame, and his face a more sick shade of pale than the two others, his hair reaching down to the middle of his back.

What made Zabuza quirk an eyebrow within his hiding place, was the very long ears the man possessed, as well as his excessively thin and long eyebrows, which reached way beyond his face.

"Calm down, Lieutenant. I'm sure our brother here has a more formidable… back-up plan, for reassurance?" the strange one spoke, his voice a strange, smooth echo that rang like a melody as his teal stare bore into the man named Thassarian.

"There will be no need for such tactics, brothers. You and I both know that the presence of the Scourge within the Land of Waves has to be quenched, otherwise this worlds chances of survival shall grow ever thinner."

"And why help this world, Thassarian? Who are they to us? We hail from Azeroth! What do we owe to the humans of this world?" the unnamed lieutenant spoke up in frothing outrage.

Thassarian's eyes glared back for a long moment "They are everything and nothing at the same time, Jonathan. While we indeed owe the people of this world nothing, we still owe the fallen of our home-world their righteous vengeance on Arthas and his armies. That's what we strive for. That's what we've vowed on since the moment of our will's rebirth. To take the Lich King down, once and for all."

"What a admirable… purpose." All three death knights whirled around, weapons at the ready, only to see mist gather at the outside of their tent.

"An outsider… how did he get past the sentries?" the long eye browed one spoke in slight fear as he took a step back, away from the mist, his eyes scanning both the entrance and his surroundings for any movement.

"Don't underestimate the military force of this world… they are as mighty warriors and as skilled assassins as our ones had been." Thassarian's eyes betrayed nothing more than alert, as he settled in a battle stance.

A low chuckle erupted from the mist "Interesting. How very interesting you all are. It was worth the time and effort to sneak in here. Now… if you'd please tell me about this Scourge…" Zabuza was interested. Very, very interested.

If he could stir this people into helping him… or the opposite party… they seemed strong, quite strong and willing. He just had to learn more about them. About both.

"An outsider like you has no right…!" the baldy began to argue, but Thassarian raised one of his swords in motion for him to silence. The man did so, grunting.

"He has every right, Jonathan. We should all remember that it's their world that's under attack. We're here only for vengeance." He reasoned.

"What makes you think he's not with them, Thassarian?" he spoke up once more.

The death knight's cold silver eyes turned to bore into his brother's.

"What makes you think he is?" Thassarian stepped forward into the mist, making Zabuza raise a thin eyebrow in curiosity. Most people avoided the mist, and the dangers that lurked within. Then again, these guys looked nothing like 'most people'.

Without warning, the warrior turned around in a deadly arc that would have severed Zabuza's head was he not ready to react. The nukenin was bewildered to say the least, that in this thick a mist the man had not only found him, but nearly killed him in one strike.

"Our powers are not something a simple ninja like yourself would ever understand, stranger. Please come out if you wish to negotiate the continuation of your life." Thassarian spoke in a tone caked in coldness, like whether Zabuza sat like a good boy or not didn't matter. He would die either way.

Now intrigued more than ever, and glad in some ways that he had taken this mysterious challenge on sight, Zabuza prepared his blade for his own retaliation.

After all, not even these guys would live without a head, right?

Thassarian wasn't very used to the cunning tactics of a shinobi, more usually fighting the brutal scourge whatsoever, rather than a stealthy rogue. Nevertheless, he had a very good idea of where these kind of fighters usually aimed at.

Critical points and blank spots, trying to defeat their opponent before he overpowered them, one-shot kills was what assassins usually aimed for. Drawn out battles weren't of their liking.

This man seemed to be of that lot.

Just as Zabuza's sword came down to claim his life, Thassarian dodged sideways, bringing his own right-hand down in retaliation.

He scored a massive gash from the nin's shoulder to his abdomen… but instead of blood, water splashed on the ground. Thassarian's eyes squinted. The ability people had in this world to create clones, illusion or not, was very similar to the annoying skill that mages had to confuse their opponents.

Mirror images made him hate mirrors for weeks…

Thassarian didn't have time for these games.

"**Hungering Cold."** And the world around the death knight seemed to freeze in an instant, as if the winter of the mountains had reached down to touch the low earth…

The mist began to dissipate a few seconds after Thassarian's spell… and the death knight was pleased with what he saw.

Within a wall of frozen ice lied the surprised body of Zabuza, his eyes gaping and his menacing sword useless in his numbed limps. Thassarian smirked, as he drove his blades through the ice and Zabuza alike.

He was pleasantly surprised to see the nin's body melt into the ice, into nothingness as the water clone froze solid. The death knight felt the chillness in the air, disturbed by the burning life of Zabuza's presence, the fire and warmth of his soul. It was easy to track the living that way, especially in such cold environments.

To Thassarian, Zabuza's body was like a sun glowing within the darkness of the cold. And that, made tracking him easy. Almost too easy.

The nuke nin, unhindered himself, summoned more water clones to keep the warrior occupied, yet Thassarian was brushing them aside, like dirt of his shoulders, easily discriminating the real one from the others through his heat detection abilities.

Before long he had reached Zabuza's location, but there was one thing the death knight could never hope to outdo a shinobi in. And that was seer speed.

Burdened by heavy armor and reflexes not made for the hit-and-run fighting style of the ninja, Thassarian would have a hard time engaging Zabuza in any real melee. The man was no fool. He would not so easily approach a guy clad in steel and wielding weird jutsus and swords, all smelling of death.

"You're quite the entertaining samurai…" Zabuza said as his blade came down to meet Thassarians in a quick strike that the man had a hard time to block. Zabuza fell back and went for the warrior again, this time a low hit meant to severe the spine at its base.

This one actually found home, but Zabuza was not that much surprised to see that his blade had cut only a little through the armor, absorbing all the damage. He retracted his sword and Thassarian grunted in pain from the mere aftermath of the impact, aside from having all air knocked out of him.

"Maybe we should help him out…" the bald sergeant suggested.

"Just leave him be. If Thassarian can't handle this, Darion will have his head not long after."

The other spectator nodded, returning his eyes to the duel.

Thassarian on his part, was very delighted at the skill Zabuza seemed to possess, both in melee combat and in blended attacks, combinations of jutsus and swordsmanship alike. He was glad, for this world seemed to stand a chance, if people like Zabuza existed…

All he had to do, was bring him to the right side.

"So, what is your name, stranger?" the death knight inquired, pushing Zabuza's horse-slaying sword away. The man grunted.

"Here's someone that hasn't heard of the 'demon of the mist'… heh…" he smirked under the bandages that covered his face. Thassarian quirked an eyebrow, trying to connect the rumors and the face before him.

"Kiri no oni… You should be Momochi Zabuza then, if I am correct?" he said, pointing his blades towards the nin, who simply shrugged.

"I've heard quite the sayings about you, ninja. For example, the fact that you butchered your whole graduating class before becoming a legal shinobi? That should have been… quite the entertainment to watch." His tone held no sarcasm but his frown was enough of an indicator for his thoughts on the subject.

"That's right. That's so much right." Zabuza's eyes shrouded, as if a distant memory was taking hold of his mind…

"Their screams… their pleas for mercy… they were all weak. Pathetic. Unfit to call themselves shinobi. Yes… these hands where bathed in blood, since a long time ago…"

"You hold no fear, or remorse, in slaying your comrades, then?" Thassarian spoke again. Zabuza was out of his trance as he glared back at the death knight.

"Comrades? Comrades you say?" he laughed "There is a saying in the village hidden in the Mist…" his hands began to weave through seals. Thassarian prepared himself.

"Those that can't see through the mist, can't hope to survive in it." And as if on cue, a new, even thicker mist began to form around them, obscuring everything from vision. The death knight was getting annoyed at having his eyesight blocked from petty things like this condensation of water. Thassarian's eyes glinted with the deathly hue every one of his order bore, as he drove his blades into the chilly earth.

"**Endless Winter" **he spoke and power surged through his weapons and into the ground, freezing the world around him as a small snowstorm began to swirl around his body violently, howling like a wolf during a full moon and whistling like a deadly knife in a silent night.

Thassarian knew that while this spell took effect, non could approach him without freezing to an ice block, or get cut in pieces from his blades. He could sense anything within this tiny chilled world he created, from a grain of sand to a leaf falling through and touching the ground.

"Getting a little serious aren't we?" Koltira, the elfish death knight whistled at watching his comrade perform the spell. It was one of the strongest techniques Thassarian had mastered. Seeing him using it meant that he was going to end this.

Zabuza didn't seem to fully comprehend the danger this swirling mass of snow and frost meant. He took in mind that a long ranged attack would be good to test its defense, but there was no water source around neither did he had thrown weapons with him.

Deciding to take his chances, Zabuza stepped through the shadows of the mist and behind Thassarian, even more silent and harder to be noticed since the noise of the little snowstorm covered his footsteps. With a mighty, whistling swing, Zabuza's horse-slaying sword found itself inches away from taking the death knight's head…

With noticeable effort, the plate-wearer rose both of his weapons to block the deadly strike in the nick of time, having sensed the sword at the last moment. Grunting, Thassarian pushed the sword back.

Zabuza back-stepped, preparing to fall back and strike again, but his opponent was no fool to lend him that opening. With speed and rage, Thassarian clashed both of his swords on Zabuza's parry.

The death knight smirked at the mistake of his opponent. Had he dodged instead of parrying, Thassarian might as well have not been able to stop the next attack again. But…

Zabuza's eyes widened in fear as he saw his favored sword begin to crack and shatter in his hands. The few seconds it had stayed within the snowstorm where enough to freeze the enchanted steel to the point that it was easily breakable. And seeing as in a matter of a couple of seconds he himself would be only a frozen statue, Zabuza abandoned his position as he fell back while Thassarian's swords cut through his own.

Feeling numb and nearly unable to move, Zabuza kneeled to the ground, glaring at his opponent. The cold was so strong, that his senses had began to blur, falter, while the mist he had created slowly dissipated.

"Your greatest mistake, shinobi, is the confidence in your power and the trust in the foolishness of your opponent. Know that today, your defeat was brought upon you by yourself alone, for had you not arrogantly blocked my attack and dodged instead, I could have very well be the one being defeated." Thassarian spoke as he sheathed his swords and the spell around him lost its form and fury.

The clapping sound of leather against leather resonated in the miniscule silence that followed, as Koltira and the other death knight stepped forward.

"Quite the amusement we had today. So, what should we do with this intruder, Thassarian? I say, we torture him to a slow and painful death…" the neutrality with which he spoke made the horrid suggestion even more dangerous sounding, for some bizarre reason.

"No, we have not come to this world to slaughter and torture its denizens, Koltira, but to make pacts and friendships. I won't say all the humans of this plane are fit for that, but we must look carefully for who is suitable and who is not." Thassarian spoke and approached the still numb Zabuza. The nin was sweating all over as he awaited what future was up for him, knowing that even if the numbness faded in a minute or two, he could never outrun these warriors as he body would need time to recover from the frost.

"After all, it's only a number of heroes that make the difference in the end." Kneeling down before the shinobi, Thassarian's eyes inquisitively gazed into those of Zabuza, staring at the man's frown in mild interest.

"You… want to live. For what reasons, I wonder… Coming into unknown territory on a whim and exchanging blows to the death with me, I'm curious as to what drove your will, shinobi. Would you care to explain?"

Zabuza, with strength he still had, spat on the ground.

"What is it to you? You reek of death." He answered, boldly still glaring at the man.

Koltira snickered at the side, a small smirk on his face.

"And you, smell of blood too, in that we do share. In the blood of the innocent…" Thassarian spoke back, his eyes glazing for a moment with the tormenting memories of the slaughters he had committed in the past, in the name of a king that was not his own.

"I will make you a deal, shinobi. You are strong, being equal, even better, than I am in combat. It would be a waste to have you die in the hands of our enemies, would it be not?" the rhetorical question was directed to his comrades, who both nodded their heads.

"You will be under our services. The only thing you have to do, it swear allegiance to the Ebon Blade and its master. In exchange, you will live. And with that I do not mean that it will be we that kill you. Believe me, Zabuza, demon of the Mist, dying by _his _hand is a fate far worse than any torture the humans of this world could ever torment you with."

Zabuza looked contemplative, if anyone could even discern it over the frown on his face. He was no fool, he knew that his fate was in their hands and the wrong decision could very well kill him right where he knelt. But what could he live for? There was nothing that needed him in this world, nothing that waited for him, nothing that cared for him…

But… he still had his subordinate. His weapon. Haku. Could he leave him alone? The poor fool would commit suicide out of grief and emptiness should he die. And Zabuza didn't want such talent and skill to be wasted just because he went and died on a whim. He had to preserve his life, if only for this.

With reluctance in his tone, the demon of the Mist spoke.

"I pledge my loyalty to the Ebon Blade and its master. My blade is yours." Should he had given a more formal speech? He didn't know. Thassarian seemed to smile, if only for a moment.

"Very well. A formal letter of introduction to induce you into our ranks will be sent to our leader, Darion Mograine. Now, I shall give you another choice, Zabuza." Thassarian stood, getting one of his blades into his hands and aiming it at the knelt man's neck.

"I, can kill you where you stand, and transform you into something stronger. A Death Knight. You will be more durable, whether it rains, whether it's cold or hot like a pit of hell, you will not feel it. Wounds will hardly matter and your eyesight will be able to pierce through the thickest blizzard. Your body will be eternal as long as you are not killed, and the magic and power you'll be able to wield and master will raise you above all of your kin." Koltira snickered, as it all sounded so pretty and full of cheesiness, how you can attain strength with just dying… they should make Thassarian a recruitment officer. The guy was skilled.

"But…" he continued "What you have to give up, is your life, anything that's dear to you for it will eventually wither away, but you will still exist, an empty killing machine. The Dark Gift is not something to be taken lightly. It is also very likely that you may not survive the process of transformation. Only death and blood await us knights of Acherus in the path of vengeance we follow… you are not obliged to follow this path." He sheathed his sword, gazing into Zabuza's eyes, which looked back in mild interest, a bit of fear, and wishful thinking.

Thassarian had made his conclusion.

"You are not ready. A few months in our ranks and you'll understand how being a death knight works. Should you still desire to walk this dark path, the offer is still open, since no living being is under the wing of Acherus, but only the dead. You will be the first one to ever commit service without having died at least once." Snickering, Thassarian turned to Jonathan, the lieutenant.

"Take him to the infirmary, the one for the living. Let the healer patch him up and he'll be ready for his first mission." Thassarian spoke. Jonathan gave a salute and, with not much effort, holstered Zabuza on his shoulder and began moving.

Koltira raised his thin, long eyebrows in curiosity "You already have a mission for a native that just popped out of nowhere, fought with you, nearly killed you and now is one of us?" he shook his head "You have been getting weirder and weirder, my friend."

Thassarian shrugged "Tough times. Our ranks have been thinning, Koltira. We have little choice but to trust in the people of this world. And this man… he has seen much pain. Much suffering. He knows what it is to take a life. We need men like him. One's that know shadow, death and blood."

"And what about his loyalty? Are you sure he won't backstab us on the first given chance? Shinobi's are masters of deception, that's the first think we came to understand when we came here." Koltira warned, still not convinced that Thassarian had made the right choice.

The human death knight remained silent for a moment "But they are still human. Remember that, Koltira. We are in another world, dominated by humans, but they have little difference from the ones in our home. I trust that what I saw in that man's eyes was the right thing." He began walking back at the command tent, intent on preparing the briefing for Zabuza's first mission.

"And what did you see, brother?" Koltira inquired, Thassarian stopping his movement, staring into yonder for a few cold moments.

"I saw… blood."

XxxxX

Naruto lay panting on the ground, his sword lying beside him, his clothes dirty and sweaty, his breath labored and his whole body aching with stinging pain. A few feet away from him stood Gorley, his mace in hand, looking as if he had just had a warm-up and was ready for more. Instead of keeping on the beating with the blonde, Gorley put away his weapon on the rightful place on his back.

He stepped towards the defeated blonde

"Your control is clumsy, both in your weapon and in your spellcraft. But you have power. In all honesty, the power you wield boy is so strong, that I'm surprised the spells you weave don't blow up in your face." He nodded, as if agreeing with himself.

"What do you mean by that?" Naruto grunted as he sat up, his abdomen still hurting from Gorley's last strike. The dwarf was no joke. He hit hard. And meant every strike.

Gorley snickered, but didn't answer to the question. What should he say? That if he could harness this power, Naruto could very well become one of the strongest, if not the one, paladins to have ever existed? And besides, with the lifestyle this boy had, he could die any moment without the chance to unleash that potential. But he was still young. They still had time.

Dwarfs could be patient. Gorley could wait.

"I mean that you have something in ye kid. I simply wonder if you'll ever find it out." He said and shrugged, turning to walk away from the far younger paladin. Naruto frowned at the man.

"Then train me." He spoke, and Gorley froze where he stood. Even Poll spat out the water he was drinking, while Hakai raised an eyebrow in mild interest.

Kakashi gazed up from his book to look over his student. Well, while it was true that the White Fang was an excellent shinobi, there was little to nothing that he could teach his prominent student in the ways of his so called paladin-hood. He was actually glad that there was someone else out there with the same powers as Naruto.

"I'm not a teacher kid. I haven't taught anyone in the last twenty years or so." Dwarfs had long lives, but not as long as an elf's or anywhere near that. In fact, a dwarf that would be considered aged would have to be over a hundred years old, and he would still be able to fight. That hard made his race was. And Gorley was only fifty-three, still young.

"But you're a paladin too." Naruto pointed out as he stood up, running his blade into the ground and leaning on the handle, his limbs aching.

Gorley stood there, watching the blonde struggle to keep his composure. He thought about it, mulled it over and over in his mind…

"Alright. I'll give ye a chance to prove yerself worthy." He said, making Naruto raise his wide eyes at him. Gorley frowned.

"I can't take the responsibility of your training lightly, kid. First of all, we'll have to get over this damn mission and back to yer village, where it's safer. Then, with the approval of your sensei, I'll test you. If you're not lacking in what I'm looking for, I'll train you. Fail and you'll have to make do with yourself, or hope to bump into another idiot that may be willing to teach you how to cast a spell." With a dismissive gesture of his gloved hand, Gorley stepped forward towards the way they were heading, letting the others follow if they wanted or not.

Poll sighed as he began walking himself. Kakashi, Sakura and Sasuke jumped down from the tree they had propped themselves on and Richard boringly peeled himself away from the makeshift throne.

"Why can't there be some blood for a change?" he questioned the empty air.

"Wasn't it supposed to be a friendly match?" Sakura inquired, eyeing the warlock with a tint of fear.

"Exactly my point." Richard nodded "What's the point of friendly matches if one doesn't kill the other?" he shrugged as if his self-imploded question was life-mattering.

"You're a sadist…" Sasuke commented the obvious dryly.

"Why thank you, I'd go as far as to say that your compliment would touch my heart, have I had one." Richard answered back. Sakura looked at him with wide eyes.

"You're speaking metaphorically, aren't you?" she said with a bit of dread stirring in her stomach.

"I'm undead, girl. I cast away my heart, it's a useless organ for a dead body after all." He spoke as if it was a normal thing.

"And how did you feel when you cast it away?" Sasuke asked with slight intrigue.

Richard simply shrugged "Like a weight's off my chest."

XxxxX

The rest of the way was peaceful, much to the warlock's disappointment, as the group kept chattering between one another. The shinobi of the party where very much intrigued by their new companions and the stories they had to tell for their homeland and themselves, the way things had been in Azeroth and how things had changed. Even the history of that strange to them world was interesting to them, sounding so much like a fairy tale out of an old book. A good old book.

Kakashi, even though he rarely was the one to chatter within Team-7, had found a large interest in the warlock and the way he could handle his dead body, the advantages and disadvantages being undead brought. Richard didn't breath, he could eat any food as long as it was food, could go without eating or drinking for weeks and even see during the night as clear as one saw the day.

The bad part was that his body needed maintenance, which meant that he had to be careful with what he ate, otherwise his bones would become brittle, his skin would begin to peel off and generally, his undead body would begin to degrade to that of a lowly ghoul, or even skeleton, which was not something he would fancy.

And while he could grow mentally tired, his body could not. He could run for days and days and still be as fresh as if he had just taken a walk to the nearest flower shop… or graveyard. Without the need to breath and without muscles that could tire, Richard was basically immune to fatigue.

Hakai's body was of very similar nature, but unlike the warlock, he was a death knight. The magic energies that run through them were different. Hakai was not completely undead, meaning that most of his organs and body still functioned, but at a much slower rate than a living person's. Death knight's could tire, they needed to breath and eat to maintain their bodies as they where, but since they were undead, they were also immortal in the sense of aging, which, both the warlock and the death knight mutually agreed that was a gift and a curse at the same time.

"But why would living forever be a bad thing?" Naruto wondered openly. Richard didn't answer, as he kept walking forward. It was Hakai that satisfied his curiosity.

"Imagine yourself having eternal life, boy. Even if you live forever, won't everything around you eventually wilt and die? Won't your loved ones, friends, places, go away at some point? And you'll be stuck right where you are, cursed to walk the paths of life without being able to find peace." A hint of pain covered his words as he spoke of the situation he was currently in, like a warning… a warning that being immortal was _not _the most fun thing to pursue.

"The good side, is that when you have so much time at your disposal, all the secrets of the universe can become known to you at some point. Yet again, what is knowledge when you have no one to teach it to? It's nothing."

"We, as undead, live a desolate and lonely life of destruction and death." Richard suddenly spoke up in an almost sad voice. Almost.

"But that's what makes undeath worth living no?" he asked with a wide grin hiding behind his masked hood. Both Naruto and the death knight had the urge to face-palm themselves at that magnificent moment.

"You're lucky yer bunch isn't me enemy, warlock! Otherwise your sanctified bones would make a nice armchair…" Gorley joined in, grunting at Richard who didn't look the least offended or scared from the comment.

"Oh, how I love such, _flaming, _comments." The warlock pointed a finger at Gorley, who was immediately, set aflame.

Yelling in surprise, Gorley hastily dispelled the immolation spell, barely even scorched. Glaring at Richard, he didn't hesitate for even one moment as he pulled at his mace and started to swing it towards the man.

"You're sooo dead!" he yelled.

"I appreciate the compliment!" Richard replied, avoiding the paladin's strikes.

As for Team 7, Naruto had returned to chatter with his teammates, Sakura being particularly interested in their new companions and their unique abilities, as was Sasuke, intrigued by the death knight and his words.

Kakashi, on the other hand, was keeping a quiet, careful watch over the small party, taking in any information that he could about them, watching as to not be taken by surprise.

By betrayal.

His eyes glanced towards the death knight who was now walking in silence, then at the mysterious magician who always seemed to smile, the short-tempered light-swinging warrior and the enigmatic sadistic warlock. All these people, with abilities akin to bloodlines, where an extra part of his team and while he had no responsibility over them, he had a duty to protect his team. Team 7.

Necromancy was a very rare and very dark kind of technique that very few shinobi knew and practiced to this day. One such necromancer was the Second Hokage with his 'Impure World Resurrection' technique, but he was one of probably five people who knew how to call upon undead.

And today, Kakashi had witnessed an apocalypse first hand. Such a small manor was attacked by such a large number of monstrosities, the jounin could barely keep himself from cringing at the memory of those cold, soul-less eyes…

Someone had called them there. Someone had given away their position, their mission. He suspected it had something to do with his disciple, Naruto, and the sword he carried. The death knight of their company had clearly mentioned that it was a very powerful weapon, the bane of all undead creatures and anything that was unholy. Kakashi had confirmed these words, seeing as how the deathly man didn't even go close to the boy voluntarily.

The jounin's thoughts though drifted away when they reached the village of Nami. Had he been any other man, the sight would have stunned him. Had he been any common man, the view would have him reeling on the ground. Everyone stood erect, unmoving, at the sight before them.

Only Richard was grinning happily

"Look, a welcome party!" he said joyously.

The village was set aflame, the smell of burnt flesh and blood assaulting them, as a cold wind of death blew all warm thoughts away…

_To be Continued…_

**A/N: Alright my dear, oh so very dear followers! Yes, the village that oh so kindly became a torch was Inari's village, you guessed right!... but that isn't a happy thing, right? For most at least.**

**Anyhow, I hope that I can soon resume my writing! I have so much missed continuing my story Q.Q It's sad.**

**To make it up to you, this chapter was extra long and extra, EXTRA informative and plot revealing, to anyone with insight.**

**Hope you have enjoyed it…**

**Oh, and here's a tiny, winy preview of what is to come:**

They stepped within the burning streets… _Why… all these people dead, who could…?_

Only one enemy could be so ruthless, savage, dangerous… _The Scourge…_

Everyone heeded his call, barricading the last standing sector of the village _"Rise brothers! To arms!"_

Koltira stood silent, watching the carnage through eyes of coldness _"… Death knights, are abominations,…"_

The Ashbringer was ablaze, purity against the unholy _"Hold the line! Let no undead scum through!"_

Holding her in his arms, they were all the words he could think and speak at the moment _"Hinata… Hinata… Hinata…"_

The voice was deep, dark, it sent a savage chill down every soul's spine, made the dead rise from their graves,

"_**All life… must end."**_

A night of death rose in the horizon…

And red eyes the color of blood, of life, of rage, stood defiant to the cold blue…


	24. Chapter 24: All that is Holy

If you had to choose between saving your family, and saving the love of your life, which one would it be?

If all you knew hang in the balance, would you still fight to protect your fragile world…?

Would you strive to live?

Everything comes from nothing, great men rose from that nothingness to bring glory alongside them.

If you had the chance to change the world, would you seize it…?

A future towards oblivion or towards the light…?

_**The Ashbringer: Shinobi of the Light**_

_**Chapter 24: All that is Holy**_

Kakashi didn't waste any more time. The shock having sunk in, he prepared a kunai in his hand.

"Sasuke, Sakura, you're with me. Naruto, Poll, you go to the left, Gorley, Richard, you take the right. Hakai, to me. We will rendezvous at the center of the village. On the double!" His students nodded, following after him as the trio sped through the central road. Hakai sighed as he made to follow them, unsheathing his runeblade.

Poll looked down on Naruto, since he was taller "Let's do well together!" he said cheerily, at which Naruto grinned and nodded. With a side glance at the remaining pair, Gorley's irritation was obvious, while Richard couldn't care less.

"Since when was he crowned as leader?" the warlock idly pondered, but seeing as non of the present men (and children) did not defy the gray-haired man, he hadn't spoken up either. Neither did he have the time to incarnate him for taking leadership without previous note.

"Let's go you sack of bones! We have ground to cover!" The dwarf shouted as he was already brandishing his weapon.

Poll let a hand rest on Naruto's shoulder. Only his amused grin was visible beneath his hood.

"Brace your stomach kid. This might feel a little dizzy." He said, Naruto feeling the slight increase in the man's power.

"What are you talking ab-" he could speak no further as they both blinked out of existence…

XxxxX

Kakashi was unsettled, to say the least, by what he saw before him. Buildings were burning like torches all around them and the smell of blood and gore was thick in the air. Sakura looked a sickly shade of pale mixed with green as she tried to avoid looking at anything that would make her heave right there and then. Sasuke, for his own reasons, was more unabashed by the sight.

Who could have caused this mayhem… or what? Only a savage tribe of bandits could be so ruthless as to-

"Watch out!" Sasuke yelled as his eyes caught a glimmer of a huma noid shadow among the flames. All shinobi prepared their weapons, Sakura looking sick but focused. Kakashi's hand itched to reveal his sharingan, to be prepared for the newcomer.

A gurgling sound erupted from where the shadow was, and then it suddenly stopped, as if it had just noticed something.

"F… F-Fresh… Meat… Brains…sss!" it's gurgles of a voice frantically shouted and hastily it ripped through the fallen logs and in their sight…

Sakura forgot all her sickly thoughts as she screamed and fell backwards.

"What the h-hell is that?" she shouted, pointing a shaky finger at the monstrosity.

Chunks of meat and flesh where missing at various spots, leaving only bone, its skin was anything but a… 'living' color, the beast of a human had red skin with calluses all over it, its' eye sockets where empty but of a yellow dot and what little hair it had shook as it turned its ugly head around as if they were ready to fall off at any moment.

True, they had faced such monsters at the mansion as well, but seeing it from such a close range and without being in the heat of battle, gave way for much more horrid details… plus the zombies they had fought where more… conditioned.

Sasuke couldn't hide his disgust. "Let's just kill it, okay?" he said and threw a kunai at the creature, which just gurgled and didn't even try to avoid. Sasukes' dagger struck true as it hit the exposed bone of the beasts' spine, snapping in and letting its head freefall to the ground. The body made a few spasmodic movements before giving in to death itself.

Kakashi sighed, his visible eye still contracted in concentration and worry.

"Looks like even they can't live without a head…" he murmured to himself.

Sakura was already helping herself up, trying to shake away the terror she just witnessed and fighting her best to avoid looking at those void eyes of the severed head.

"We have to regroup with the others. If this situation is anything like the mansion, we only have strength in numbers." He spoke and his gennin nodded. Seeing his team agree, Kakashi made a few seals "Kuchiyose no jutsu!" he slammed his palm to the ground and out of the puff of smoke a small dog appeared with droopy eyes and the softest paws in the universe.

"Yo, Kakashi! What's going on here? This place reeks of death… holy dog food!" the little pup shouted in fear as it spotted the zombie's head right next to itself.

"Pakkun, we have little time for this. I need you to find Naruto and lead us to him, quickly!" Kakashi urged and Pakkun forced himself to focus on his orders. Nodding, the dog began sniffing the air, its face, if it was even possible for a dog, contracted in disgust at the smell of gore and rotting flesh… it was as if someone hadn't taken a bath for years, multiplied by more than a hundred!

The dog shivered, thinking that its master would probably have to fight these hundred and maybe more in order to survive this place…

"Say, Kakashi, where are we anyway?" the pug questioned. The jounin sighed.

"The village of Mist… or at least what's left of it."

XxxxX

Naruto would probably never get used to the sight of ghouls. Bloody things where more disgusting than slime hanging from the ceiling. Poll didn't seem as troubled over this fact as he was though.

Chanting non-stop, Naruto wondered how the mage could keep up with such speeds. As they run to escape the hordes of undead that came after them, Poll just kept repeating a rather short chant that sent small blasts of fire at every ghoul the mage aimed.

The young paladin's eyes widened as he saw another group right in front of them. He prepared to grip his blade when Poll placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Just hang on!" he yelled over the roars of hungry undead. Chanting a single word, a blast of cold shot around them, creating solid ice at the feet of the monsters and preventing their movement. Both the front and the rear ghouls where stopped, if only for a few seconds.

Whispering another word, Poll teleported them both a few yards ahead, bypassing the ghouls that now, disoriented, searched frantically for their escaped prey.

Poll pulled them both inside a house that had yet to catch on fire and slowly slid the door to a close, hoping the ghouls hadn't noticed. The mage leaned on one of the walls, panting heavily.

"Are you alright?" Naruto asked, now having his sword at the ready. Poll nodded, pulling his backpack from his side and reaching inside it. He pulled out a loaf of bread, which, strangely, seemed to have some kind of purple dust on it. Catching his breath, the mage slid down on the floor and began munching on the piece of food.

"Is this really the right time to loiter about?" he grunted at the man, while still keeping his eyes and senses sharp for any undead that might be inside the building.

"Stupid boy, 'munch', you think chanting fast and endlessly like that is easy? Hah! 'munch'" Poll tried not to laugh while eating.

"Any spell user knows that mana, or chakra in your case, is essential, the core of his power. If that pool of power dries up, I'm as good as a peasant in melee combat. This" he raised the mysterious loaf of bread "Is a special conjured food that only us mages can make. The nether energies stored in it can replenish mana pools and help wounds heal faster." He took another bite "Plus it's tasty."

Naruto sighed, having understood about half of what he spoke about. Stretching his senses out, he carefully looked for undead presences. He found non inside the house, but a dozen of them just walked around right outside, while a large undead force was heading in a single direction.

"Can that bread replenish chakra too?" he asked.

Poll was skeptical for a moment. "Maybe. Why?"

The Ashbringer flared with power "'Cause I'll soon need some."

XxxxX

"Bunch of moronic annoyances they all are… Stupid freakin' undead can't even keep into their graves… damn all necromancers to hell…! I really need sem beer for Light's sake…" Gorley kept muttering as he easily smashed any undead that came before him, be it ghoul or abomination, he cared not as his experienced hands guided his mace with deadly accuracy and his use of the light only served to drive the monsters further down in the ground.

Richard regarded the carnage the dwarf left behind him with mild interest, wondering how much of a great warlock this one could make. Paladins and carnage seemed like an oxymora, a bewildering and strange thing, but no less fascinating. Ahh, the smell of blood, gore, burning flesh and wood, how nostalgic all this was, how it brought back memories of the good old days where he wondered the globe alone, butchering villages wherever he went, torturing little children and slaughtering innocent women at his wake. How he wished he could be just as merciless for one more time…

But these were all merry wishes. He could have some fun killing things that were already dead for now. He could get to butchering the living and creating a new army later on.

Thinking about making an army, Richard let Gorley move along on his way of destruction and simply bent down to grab the thankfully not smashed head of a ghoul. Pondering over the idea shortly, he looked around for a suitable body. Finding one, Richard put the head back in place and with a single motion of his fingers, dark energies remedied the wound and the ghoul began to come back to unlife.

Grinning happily at his handiwork, Richard grabbed the ghoul's head and began implanting his own will in it. But he found resistance. The warlock was surprised for a moment.

There, inside that insignificant creature's trapped soul, lied another consciousness. Or rather, another one's will. Richard reached out to it, grabbing hold of that small connection…

And immediately he was taken aback by what he saw, for even in his countless years of terrorizing, horror, and meaningless slaughter, what he saw made his eyes tear and his dark as the night soul clench in emotional joy.

Through that small connection, Richard, with his own illustrious necromantic skills, saw a river, no, a sea of souls, all these souls bound to a single will. He hungrily peered at the marvelous phenomenon, seeing the souls roar in agony and despair, as everything was bathed in darkness and cold, and a single, commanding, colder than ice voice spoke only one phrase:

"**All life… must end…**" the command was repeating itself over and over, and even though the weak, meek souls tried to protest, that one will was so overpowering, that their screams where nothing but a dull echo, a mere pebble in the grand sea.

Richard, for the first time in his long years, found someone else other than himself to admire.

So immersed he was in what he felt, that the warlock didn't notice that Will shift towards him and the small strand he had gripped. The Will focused on his foreign presence, one that was inside the flow but was not part of it. The Will could feel that anomaly.

"**Who… are you…"** it was more of a demand rather than a question. Richard, shot back into his own mental reality, was quick and happy to answer.

"My name is Richard, Lord of the Black, Emperor of the Bones, leader of the brotherhood of darkne-"

"**You too… shall obey…"** the voice said matter-of-factly, and Richard's unliving features turned into an expression of pure curiosity.

"Oh? You wish to control me?" It was so interesting, it had been a while since he had a challenge! He could feel the Will beginning to force its way into his own soul. Richard chuckled.

"Don't you worry. I'll be sure to give you a warm welcome." All playful expressions where gone as Richard focused his own power as well, and clashed head on with the intruder. His eyes where determined as he fought to keep the Will outside and seize control himself.

All these souls… these armies… all for him!

But the Will proved much tougher of an opponent than he thought. Equivalent in malice and cunning, it stood its ground against his assault. But Richard was anything but taken aback. He kept pushing and pushing, until the Will relented and the warlock seized control of the ghoul.

Not even having formed a sweat, Richard stood up and stretched his undead body, feeling more lightened up than usual.

"That was such a great exercise! I wish I could do it every morning!" he said to himself, as Gorley had already gone far into the fray. Glaring at the side the dwarf must have moved through, judging from the rows of corpses, Richard was offended for having been left behind.

The ghoul he had conquered just stared at him. Only stared. He had forgotten its existence for a moment.

"Oh, yes, its you bag of flowers as well. What are you looking at me for? Go play somewhere, eat a brain or two!" his eyes lit up with a fanciful brutal idea.

"And smash your head against a rock after you've finished killing." He spoke seriously and was really glad to hear the ghoul respond in a gurgle, before taking its own way to find prey to hunt on. Satisfied but still a little sad for going to miss this fella smashing his brains, Richard went on to follow the evident trail his companion had left behind, a trail full of undead corpses and a few guts here and there…

XxxxX

Naruto bravely followed the mass of undead that seemed to be heading for the center of the town, cutting down any of them that stepped in his way, turning everything to ashes with a swing of his blade. The purified dust scattered in the winds, leaving nothing but a distant memory and a freed soul behind…

Poll had little trouble keeping up with the blonde, being a far more experienced fighter. Any undead Naruto didn't turn into ashes, he made short work of with his magic. The boy was even using his chakra to boost his speed and agility, but the might of the Light he channeled through the Ashbringer was also eating away at his reserves. The mage found it quite interesting that chakra was so much similar to mana in its usage. Maybe there was no difference to it at all!

Either way, the legions of undead seemed endless, but the fires and the smell of death that surrounded them lessened as they reached the center of the village, where some homes still stood and only undead corpses, a few civilian ones as well, littered the streets.

With a vertical sweep Naruto cut two more ghouls in half, panting heavily, feeling his whole body exhausted from the spree it had been forced into. He had spent a great deal, maybe most of his chakra, in killing all these undead. It was rare of him to thin his reserves so much, but it was also the first time that he had to force this much power in his blade at a single time.

Without more monsters to slay around, Poll reached into his pockets to procure a loaf of that magical bread. He passed it on to the tired paladin, who eyed it curiously for a moment, then took it, and slowly took a bite.

He was relieved that it indeed tasted good.

For a whole minute they just sat there, in the middle of the road, surrounded by death and burning wood, munching on the wondrous pan.

Naruto was amazed to see most of his strength return and his chakra flare up once again. It was as if he hadn't been fighting at all! He really had to get the recipe on this one food!

Hinata could probably make it even more delicious.

Hinata…

His mind drifted off to that blue-haired girl with the kind, soft smile and the radiant pale face, his fellow paladin and the only person in the world other than Tirion and the Sandaime that seemed to understand him and his burdens…

He wondered what could she be doing right now. Maybe training with her teammates? He vaguely remembered that the house she was supposed to stay in was just a few kilometers out of this village, near the coast…

His heart raced at the idea that these undead might have passed through there too. Worry settled in his heart as he stood up and trembling hands tried to grip the handle of the Ashbringer. What if…?

No, Hinata was a capable paladin, she could fend for herself easily against these weak creatures of darkness.

But above all, he and Hinata had an advantage that non of these monsters could compare to or even overcome.

For above all, they were shinobi.

"Naruto, can you sense them now?" Poll asked, eyeing their surroundings with caution. The blonde was shot out of his thoughts, and with a shake of his head, began to concentrate.

"No, there are no undead signatures nearby… only… one. And immensely powerful." But Naruto knew this signature. It was Richard. Gorley must not be far then as well.

"Oh! Hello there! And there I was wondering if I was the only living one around!" Richard said cheerfully as he stepped into their field of vision. His robes where a little signed, but he looked much happier than usual, probably because of a gory spectacle he was lucky enough to witness.

Richard took a look at their surroundings, and was happy with what he saw.

"Ah, the possibilities! It's giving chills to this over-godly body of mine!" both Naruto and Poll knew he wasn't doing self-sarcasm.

They didn't speak however, not until the warlock bend down and began putting a sliced ghoul together.

"Richard, what are you doing?" Poll questioned but he ignored him, too immersed in healing the wound with dark energies.

After maybe half a minute, the ghoul was again alive and just stood there, looking into nothingness.

"Now this will come handy. I have turned this poor creature into my servitor, which means that if I say a biscuit is a cookie, it's a cookie." Both companions didn't see the sense behind that.

Richard stood silent for a moment. The ghoul suddenly jerked, as it turned to look at its new master, then gurgled and began running off towards where Naruto had sensed the great pack of undead heading. The blonde was surprised, not knowing if he had chosen the route by instinct or had similar tracking abilities.

"Are you a necromancer?" Poll asked, turning his attention between the warlock and the fleeing ghoul. Richard shrugged. "I've been getting a little rusty. Usually I can make them even burst at my own will. Sadly, having not practiced in some time, I've been lately missing that amusing entertainment."

Naruto was disgruntled at the causality Richard spoke of gore with.

"Now, if you could protect me for a few minutes, I'll be able to raise a small army to help us." Richard said.

"Protect you? From what? The place is empty." Poll said, pointing around. Richard sighed as he went to work on the next corpse.

"Let's just say that a specific someone doesn't like me tampering with his minions…"

Naruto braced the Ashbringer, preparing for an all out fight, as the sound of numerous footsteps, light and heavy, where incoming from all directions…

XxxxX

"Sensei" Sasuke spoke as his sharingan flared, the tomoes swirling along with the uneasiness of their wielder.

Kakashi and Sakura stepped beside him "This way, I can see a faint trail of chakra. Someone must have blasted through this path." He explained, and the jounin looked at the area around them, his single eye neutral to what he saw.

The whole street was littered with corpses and guts.

"No kidding." he said and kicked a skeletal skull away.

XxxxX

"Here they come! Brace yourselves!" the rampaging footsteps where getting closer and closer, both Naruto and Poll were sweating profusely, gripping their weapons till their hands went white, eyes and mind focused on the danger ahead…

Lo and behold, Gorley came running at them at the full speed any dwarf would be proud to have. He was panting heavily and was covered in blood, but judging from the way he run with ease, it was not his.

And soon, a whole army of undead followed, the cherry on the cake.

"What the fuck?" Poll swore as he began chanting his next offensive spell, while Naruto held his sword high, channeling power to it.

Both finished their attacks at the same time, Poll incarnating the ground the undead where on and Naruto smashing his blade forward, sending a crushing wave of energy against the incoming horde. Many of the monsters fell to their initial attack, but that didn't seem to hinder their numbers one tiny bit.

"Shit." They both swore. Naruto jumped into the fray, the ashbringer turning any undead that came close to ashes, while Poll assisted him with his spells from behind, making quick work of any sneaky beast.

Gorley was still trying to handle his breathing, his wary hands still holding on to his mace. He turned to see his long-time friend and the blonde boy fight like mad against the horde, while Richard was calmly and casually checking a skull over.

"Maybe I should turn this into a cup." He said absentmindedly, before noticing a hole under said skull, a precision strike from some thin weapon probably. He tossed the thing away, disappointed.

He had no time to reprimand the warlock's carefree behavior. The dwarf stilled both body and mind in preparation to the still raging battle ahead of him. He closed his eyes, concentrated, and when he opened them, the might of the Light raged around him, consecrating the ground beneath his feet. Gorley greet his teeth as his power flared, skyrocketed and burned anything unholy within its reach. No undead came near him and wasn't reduced to a pile of ashes.

"**Avenging Wrath" **wings of light formed on his back, they flapped and the heavenly golden feathers rejuvenated the ground wherever they fell, cleansing the fallen and purging the dead.

Naruto paused in his slaying for a moment, his mouth hanging agape at the sheer power the dwarf emitted. Poll smirked, backing away from the forces of undeath.

Even the horde stopped at the radiance of the Light.

Naruto and Poll could hardly comprehend what happened next, as Gorley was a blur of light and destruction as he rushed through the ranks of the dead, decimating anything in his way. The undead in an uproar where desperately trying to stop him, but nothing went passed his mace in anything other than pieces.

Naruto could only stare as, a veteran paladin, something that he too could be one day, was slaying the dead in an endless whirlwind of steel and light.

"Naruto! Poll!" Kakashi landed next to them, soon followed by Sakura and Sasuke, who gaped as well at the sight of the rampaging dwarf.

Richard was still looking for a skull that could serve as his cup.

Sasuke grunted as stepped forward and went through seals, sending a grand fireball towards the mass of the undead, caring not to hit the dwarf.

"Are you going to just sit and let him fight on his own?" he reprimanded the rest of the group, who all came out of their daze, shook their heads, and charged into the fray. Kakashi smiled under his mask, glad that his student wasn't only capable, but courageous as well.

Courage and foolishness had a very thin line separating them in the shinobi world though…

Richard, was his own part, finally found the skull he was looking for. He smiled happily as he put the item in one of his pockets.

"Now, for a tea spoon." And on he went scavenging again…

XxxxX

A few minutes later and the undead horde was decimated to bits. Only corpses and death remained in the street they had fought in. Poll was lying on one of the few spots not covered in gore and blood, breathing heavily, his mace loose in his hand. All of them where panting, tired from the fight.

Not only where undead hard to kill, since only cutting their heads off could one-shot kill them, but they were also relentless, unpredictable, and savage as well. Especially the big ones, which weren't hindered one bit by the smaller fries, killing their way through them to get to their targets, the living.

All in all, they were just glad they had all pulled through this.

Naruto wasn't breathing as much hard, not tired yet and happy to provide his teammates and companions with any of Poll's magical bread he had on him.

Sasuke, reluctantly munching at first at the magical bread, then devouring it, approached the mage of the group. Poll seemed to be deep in thought, gazing at one particular direction.

"Where did you learn jutsus like these?" the genin spoke bluntly, and Poll shaken out of his thoughts turned to address him. He smiled.

"I wouldn't call them jutsus but… years and years of training pay off, I guess." He said. Sasuke thought about it for a moment… before looking back up at the mage again.

"Could you teach me?" Poll could almost laugh, but held it in, already knowing this question would pop up.

"I'll be honest with you kid, you have great potential, but your path is not that of the wizard." He said, as one his hands was set ablaze, engulfed in a tiny inferno.

"Mages are long range fighters who scarcely rely on anything other than their magic to defend themselves and fight. I saw you handle those undead, and your's is the type of a melee combatant. I think you would do much better under the tutelage of a rogue, or a warrior. Still, the path of the ninja is what fits you best." Sasuke raised an eyebrow at the man.

"A rogue?"

Poll put the flame in his hand out and outstretched his other hand. Then he hovered his previously flaming palm over the outstretched limb, slowly rising it. Purple energy whirled to create the image of a crouched figure, who clutched two daggers, one in each hand, his whole body clad in leather armor and a hood hiding any of his facial features.

"This, is a rogue. Assassins that excel at quickly and silently disposing of their foes, they use poisons and the cloaking of the shadows to sneak around and up on their opponents. Very dangerous they are, especially when you are all alone against one. I've seen plenty of ninjas in my days here, and believe me, none of them are as stealthy as an Azerothian rogue."

Gorley muttered something about 'damned mutilate rogues' in the background, but Sasuke ignored him.

"What about the 'warrior' you mentioned?" he asked. Poll smiled, as the image in his hand changed into that of a tall man clad in steel armor all over, menacing and powerful complete with a large axe and a skull at the blade.

"A warrior. Have you ever heard of the samurai?" Sasuke nodded, and Poll continued.

"Like samurais, warriors are experts of all weaponry. Tough like hell and strong enough to wrestle a bull, they rely on their immense strength and versatility to slaughter their foes from close range. Unlike the rogues though, they are pretty straightforward, charging head-on into battle and swinging their huge weapons around like crazy. You DON'T want to be close to one of them when they go berserk."

"Cause unlike samurai, there is no bushido to hold them back from chopping your head off." Richard piped in, his eyes squinted in an expression that made him look evil. More than he usually looked at least.

"You can go dot some chicken for all we care Richard." Poll said with a smile, and the warlock actually smiled back.

"I'd prefer to scare you out of yours pants, and then watch you try to blink in agony."

"Want a go at it?"

"I'm just reluctant over how much of my time I can waste on you."

The sweet grins both of them had made everyone's spines chill, as if the two where just two friends discussing the weather.

"You two either shut up or I'll make you shut up." Gorley threatened with his mace.

"Now warlock, what about the help you promised?" he said, looking intently at Richard. He stood still for a moment, before jerking in sudden realization, reaching into his pockets and pulling out a scroll.

Richard began chanting in a language none of them understood, not even Poll or Gorley. The warlock's face and mind where focused as he kept reading the incantation, everyone held their breath as…

"Fere bifteki tora!" he yelled and thunder roared, everyone blinked as before them stood…

"I'!" said a squeaky voice in so much a haste that maybe two words of the whole phrase was all that was understood.

The group blinked again at the small creature, which looked like a mini-sized demon.

"This, is my imp. This is my very good and well behaved imp, right?" Richard bent down and patted the 'imp' on the head, which was prepared to begin shouting at him again, when it noticed his expression.

They could have sworn they heard the poor creature swallow its voice down.

"This, is all the help you can master? Are you kidding me?" Gorley was unimpressed, while Richard shrugged.

"What did you expect? An army of demons and undead or something?"

XxxxX

They moved towards the center of the town, where both Naruto and Gorley could feel a great disturbance going on, something that was nothing like the skirmishes around the streets. In a couple of minutes they had reached their destination, and they were all but amazed at the sight before them. Through the smokes of the fire outbreaks, the churning buildings and the dirty streets, one site stood out at the center of the village, were the old chappel stood, it's back against a small hill, a perfect position for a last stand. Everything was tinted a red, orangish color, the colors of fire and blood.

Civilians seemed to have barricaded the area with anything that could come in hand, from chairs to rubble and even bricks and pieces of stone. Behind said obstructions some of the bravest fought to defend the front line from the assault of the undead, who came in streams from all the surrounding streets. Their numbers seemed endless.

The few men that held the barricades were all that kept the undead from slaughtering the women and children within the chapel.

Kakashi's eye hardened as he rose his headband and run through hand seals.

"Everyone, charge in, this is an order! Protect the civilians!" he yelled as energy formed within his hand, taking on the form of a sphere that crackled with power.

He was a blur as he sped into the undead ranks.

"**Raikiri!"** It was easy to follow his trail as he cut a straight line of mayhem through the ranks of the dead.

Sasuke wasn't one to sit back either as he shot a Grand Fireball at the monsters, who, focused on their assault, didn't even see it coming.

Sakura threw any explosive note that she could around the monsters, bombing many of them to bits and pieces, as she had no jutsus of a massive scale. Either than that she stood close to Poll to protect him in melee.

Said mage was casting spells of mass destruction along the battlefield. Blizzards fell and pillars of fire rose to butcher the ranks of the dead.

Gorley was clearly tired, but he had once again called upon his Avenging Wrath to wreak havoc. He and Naruto where blurs of Light as they kept butchering their opponents.

As for Richard, he had taken it up to himself to (ironically) defend the villagers. He really, _really _had to hold himself back from accidentally missing and killing one of them. His hands were as whatever he touched turned into a small inferno, or either had a hole in it from a punch of his. He was surprisingly versatile for a caster.

And let's not forget that he could shoot arrows with his mind, so one could say that the warlock was multi-tasking at the moment. Thankfully the arrows missed the civilians.

Most of the time.

Naruto gripped his blade harder and harder, feeling sweat and blood that was not his smear all over him. He could barely hold back the urge to turn around and gag right there and then, but he knew that such an action would mean his end in less than a moment.

So he persevered.

Gorley, far more used to fighting such freaks, was rather enjoying his kills.

"**It looks like… my foot minions weren't enough for this pathetic little village. How… intriguing." **A voice spoke over the uproar of battle, and every living thing in the vicinity, felt a chill engulf them and all hope vanish from their hearts.

The waves of undead stopped charging as through their ranks stepped a single man. The defenders of the chapel and the group from Konoha finished the last of the ghouls off, before turning to face their new opponent.

They all wished they hadn't turned at all. And that they had made a run for it. Right there and then.

Before them stood a man at least two and a half meters tall (A/N: We count height with meters in Greece.), glad in dark steel armor decorated with skulls, plated greaves with thick fur and a helmet that obscured most of his face in darkness.

Power leaked out of the helmet from a pair of teal eyes that stared at them with no emotion. They were like the chill of death the moment one draws his last breath, like a merciless ocean in a stormy night.

In his hand he held a blade like none of the shinobi had ever seen. Runes decorated the sword which was jagged on one side, while the guard was a steel goat like skeletal head, with a leather grip. The eyes of the hilt were void.

Naruto had seen this man, in visions Tirion had provided him. He had talked to his friends about him, had heard stories about him.

But the real thing was always worse by a long shot…

Only Kakashi, Poll, Gorley and Richard found the courage and strength to move before his overwhelming presence, being far more experienced in combat and against fear. The genin though, stood paralyzed and with eyes wide with terror before him.

Arthas lowered his gaze to look at Naruto, to look at the weapon he carried. He seemed to grunt.

"**So… this is the new Ashbringer? A child?"** he laughed, and that cold, merciless laughter weakened their resolve even more. The Lich King embedded his blade in the ground, fixing his gauntlets.

"**I am disappointed in you, Tirion. The greatest threat to my reign, brought to me in a silver plate, ripe for the taking…" **he gripped his blade and pulled it up again, standing firm, tall and menacing.

"Arthas you piece of trash… you should have perished that day in Icecrown…" Gorley growled as he gripped his mace, the sweat of fear forming on his forehead.

"**Indeed, had Tirion been more careful, or rather, less careless, he could have defeated me…"** he paused for a moment "**But that did not happen. The esteemed champions he brought before me now serve me in their undeath, the brave heroes send to destroy me aided in the destruction of all that they held dear." **He laughed, and it was the laugh of evil.

"**Such glorious slaughters… I will enjoy torturing your souls, paladins. Especially you, Gorley Bronzebeard, last king of Ironforge!" **Gorley's eyes then grew dark as he bend his chin over, gazing into nothing for a few moments as the Lich King mocked his heritage.

"Naruto…" he spoke in a tone that pulsed with authority.

The blonde couldn't help his stammer "Y-yes?" he croaked.

"Give me the blade." He said. Naruto's eyes grew wide.

"What? But…!"

"GIVE ME THE BLADE, BOY!" he shouted, and Naruto reluctantly walked over with the Ashbringer in hand.

Gorley threw his mace aside, gripping the hilt of the sword. The blade immediately blazed with power, such power that Naruto had never seen it display from him.

"I'm sorry lad, but even if you wanted to, you stand no chance against this guy as you are now. At least… I can distract him while you guys flee." He said, and Naruto's eyes grew wide.

"What are you talking about? We are not leaving you behind!" he shouted.

"Yes, yes you are! You either get the hell away now or become food for ghouls! Choose!" the dwarf yelled back. A hand fell on his shoulder, a calloused, steady hand that Gorley had come to trust over the years.

"I am staying Gorley, my old friend. Nothing you say will change my mind, not now, not ever." He spoke with determination.

Gorley snickered. "When did you leave me alone anyway? In the siege of Stormwind, at the battle for Ironforge, you were always there mate. I can ask nothing more of you."

"I am not leaving either." Kakashi said, stepping beside them. His team was ready to pipe in as well, when he turned with a look of seriousness they had never seen before to them.

"You are forbidden from taking part in this. This is an order. You will protect the civilians at all costs, but I want no interference. Am I understood?" he spoke and Sasuke, Naruto, Sakura, reluctantly nodded. Naruto and Sasuke growled under their breaths, while Sakura bent her head downwards, feeling useless.

"**Are you done chatting your last words, warriors?" **another chill run up their spine at the sound of the Lich King's voice.

"Looks like we caught him in a good mood. He will even let us talk." Gorley laughed, as Poll joined him and Kakashi chuckled.

"**You… are quite the pathetic fools, thinking you can overwhelm my minions and me at the same time… what the…?"** Arthas turned to look at his hordes of undead, only to see that they were not moving, even as he commanded them. He tried again, and again, but a mental barrier was preventing his orders from reaching his minions.

He traced the link of the barrier, to find its caster behind his enemies lines, at the chapel. The warlock was comfortably sitting in a throne made of bone inside said structure, smiling back at him.

Artha's eyes squinted dangerously.

"**Impossible… to command my own minions…" **he seemed to speak to himself, for the group before him didn't understand.

Richard smirked. He had fallen back to the chapel from the start for this exact reason. To take his enemy by surprise, steal his minions while he was distracted. He could have never done that if the Lich King knew that they had a necromancer among them. He would have protected his mental links.

That error cost him dearly.

But Richard wasn't strong enough to take complete control over. He didn't have enough time to do that. He could only hold a barrier up strongly enough to prevent the small fries from interfering.

The Lich King's attention turned back to his opponents.

"**No matter. I shall take care of you worms myself, and enjoy every bit of your tortured screams…" **he pointed the tip of Frostmourne towards them.

The eyes of the hilt came to life as power flowed through them and into the blade, lighting the runes like cracks on ice.

The Ashbringer in Gorley's hands blazed with such power that they could have gone blind should they have looked at it for long. Gorley formed wings of light on his back, empowering himself even more, so much that the earth beneath his feet cracked from the force of the light and his eyes glowed a golden color as he basked in its might.

Poll's hands were set ablaze as he prepared his spells and his mana flared.

Kakashi's hand crackled with lighting as his sharingan eye turned in anticipation.

"**All life, must end… wreath, in agony!" **Arthas took a step forward, Kakashi shot like a bullet at him, Gorley jumped in the air, a hammer of light in one hand and the Ashbringer in the other, Poll formed a massive fireball in his hands…

The wheels of fate begin to turn…

XxxxX

**A/N: Just so you know guys, I'm reading ALL of your reviews, I'm really thankful for your support. Please look forward to the next chapter of**

**The Ashbringer: Shinobi of the Light – 25. **

**Unfortunately, my browser has a problem so I might not be able to reply to some of your reviews, thanks a lot for reading and I'm really glad that you enjoy =) I'll try to run the story a bit faster from the next chapter forward, jesus, I'm not even at the chuunin exams yet! Don't know if I'll even have any though, considering the story.**

**This story, to give you a hint, will be slightly off cannon, maybe much off, depends on my whims, based on the Naruto verse with just some WoW villains and good guys thrown in, the basic bad guy being Arthas. I really can't wait to see how I'll write out his meeting with Madara, ;)**

**I'm trying to not make this too 'WoW-like', since it's a Naruto fic after all, but I can't help it with these chapters, sorry .**

**Oh, one last thing. You might want to check 'Wizard of Kitsune' by Leaf Ranger out. It's a Naruto, Lord of the Rings crossover and I must say he has done a good job. Not my favorite story by a long shot but still a really good read that I enjoyed and was well worth the time. It could have been much better, but LR did a really good job anyways so I can't complaint =)**

**Once again, please review with your ideas and what you think about the chapter, I always enjoy and are encouraged by the criticism I get, be it constructive or encouraging ^.^**

**NEXT TIME: Naruto and his allies face off against the Lich King himself! Who will prevail in this battle of fate? Who will fall and who will stand? **

**Till we meet again…**

**HoNdeR All Mighty**


	25. Chapter 25: Burn

_**The Ashbringer: Shinobi of the Light**_

_**Chapter 25: Burn**_

**OMAKE ADDED!**

Kakashi's Raikiri clashed against Frostmourne, said blade not even bending at the penetrating force of the ninja's attack. Arthas pushed him back, raising his blade to parry the hammer Gorley shot at him, and then the downward slash that followed right after. The ground actually broke under his feet, creating a small crater from the sheer might of the blow. The Lich King didn't even grunt.

And while Gorley fell back, a massive fireball the size of a large rock came rushing for his head. Arthas rose one hand, creating a shield of snow and ice, which nullified the attack, swallowing and diminishing the fire.

"**Is that all?" **he said as the winds around him subsided. The three combatants stood ready, preparing for another attack.

"**Then it's my turn." **Arthas pointed the tip of Frostmourne at them, and the runes on the blade began to glow with power.

"**Annihilation…!" **streams of ice sharp as a razor cut through the air and straight at them. They all jumped out of the way to avoid the deadly barrage which, despite their effort, kept on.

Naruto and his teammates watched in amazement as the battle went on, with the Lich king fighting them unfazed, struck by a few attacks but not bent in the slightest, while the warriors had a hard time keeping themselves alive against his own attacks, which devastated the land and froze the world around them.

With the Lich King distracted in his fight, Richard found the chance to send some of the minions against him, but it was to little avail as the prudent ghouls and abominations couldn't withstand even one blow from Arthas, who could shatter them with a single hand or freeze and cleave them with Frostmourne.

Gorley charged in once again, the Ashbringer and Frostmourne clashing, their two powers struggling against each other.

The dwarf looked into the lich king's deathly eyes, and all he saw in them was death, destruction, the void…

"Countless souls you have brought in agony, you damn bastard. The moment you were born was a disgrace to all life!" Gorley pushed, hatred fueling his strength.

"**Complementing me won't save you, dwarf." **Arthas pushed him back, slashing at him with Frostmourne. Gorley avoided the strike, but the tip of the blade managed to chip him shoulder, creating a small cut.

He could immediately feel that spot going sore, then numb, and after a few moments, he couldn't feel his shoulder at all. Gorley fell back to heal his shoulder, and with the help of the Light the wound healed and quickly disappeared, along with its effects.

"This is no time to sit back and enjoy the view mate!" Poll reprimanded him, and then blinked away to avoid a vicious strike from Artha's blade. Gorley raised his sword at the last moment to parry the following blow, saving his own life.

"**Surrender, to the chill of the grave!" **Arthas pushed, making the dwarf bend to his knees. Gorley grunted as he fought with every inch of his body to keep the Lich King at bay.

Lighting and thunder cracked behind them.

"**Double Lighting Blade!" **Kakashi charged in with both hands wielding a Raikiri in each, striking at Arthas's defenseless back. The Lich King howled in pain as the attacks found home and the lighting surged through his body, but even the excessive penetrating power of a lighting blade wasn't enough to go through his armor.

Both Gorley and Kakashi jumped back, panting and winded. It was Kakashi's strongest move, and there had been little to no real damage done. Gorley took a moment to steady his trembling hands, numb from the parry.

Arthas straightened himself and grunted, his merciless eyes glaring at his opponents. **"You mortals have been entertaining… but I have little time for your pathetic games." **

And with that he took a step back, brought Frostmourn to his waist and began channeling a spell. Anything alive within range could feel the surge of power that was building up rapidly, a power far exceeding any that Arthas had displayed in the whole fight. Gorley's eyes opened wide in terror.

"EVERYONE! Take cover! Hide! NOW!" he yelled and as fast as his short legs could take him, he run for dear life at the chapel. Kakashi and Poll quickly followed, and the civilians, already fleeing in terror, were like little more than headless chicken trying to hide from a predator.

"Close the door! Move!" Kakashi yelled as the Lich king rose his blade to the sky. Finishing a devastating spell known as 'Frostmourn's Wrath', Arthas unleashed all the power that he had built up to relinquish the world around him of all warmth and life, killing anyone and anything within a large radius around him instantly. Many civilians died on the spot, their bodies pale like a bloodless corpse before they even hit the ground. Kakashi and his team, along with their companions, had already fled inside the chapel, barely escaping death.

"What are we going to do? He'll kill us all!" A civilian yelled, his expression one of pure terror, very much like all the rest of them in there.

Sakura finally let her knees give way. She had been standing as tall and strong as she could up until now, but that overwhelming presence, that coldness, that power…

She couldn't handle it.

Sasuke and Naruto were both sweating profoundly, scared beyond measure at the likely outcome of this fight. Kakashi hid his Sharingan, trying to conserve what little chakra he could, while Gorley called upon the Light to heal their injuries, slowly, as he too was tired.

"It will take him a few minutes to recover from that spell and attack. The holy ground of this chapel can only stall his recuperation for a mere minute or two." Gorley spoke as he healed a scratch over Poll's arm, were his robes had been torn.

"More than enough time I say." Kakashi spoke, reaching into his pouch.

"This one will be dangerous, and I need all of us, I mean ALL of us, to co-operate." He pointedly shot a look at Richard, who, for once, seemed pretty serious as he glared back, not moving an inch from his throne.

"I already have my hands full keeping those stupid pieces of flesh out of your way. Don't ask for more, or I'll feed you to Skel." He glared even harder.

"Who's Skel?" Poll asked curiously despite the moment.

"My undead pug!" Richard said happily as he procured out of nowhere a bony animation of a pug.

The little thing woofed and wagged its tail happily.

XxxxX

Outside the small chapel, Arthas was once again rising to his feet after the attack he unleashed. It always took a lot out of him to complete this spell, but the results were quite to his liking.

A large number of corpses littered the area around him, undead and human alike…

In silence his gaze washed over the carnage and for a few silent moments he contemplated his next course of action. Within him though, a far more loud conversation was taking place…

…

….

"Silence, you fool!" Ner'zhul grunted as he paced back and forth within his own mindscape, the orc's spirit shimmering in hate and malice.

Before him, in the most corner of his mind, was the Menethil prince, or rather, a small blonde child.

"What… what madness have I wrought…" he sobbed to himself and continued his cries. Ner'zhul, annoyed, pointed a finger at the boy, but a small shield made of light repelled his spell.

The spirit grunted once again in utter annoyance. How could he ever have known that a small, tiny, innocent part of Arthas could still be alive within him? Frostmourne should have had corrupted the prince from head to the very last toe!

But Ner'zhul always underestimated the power of the Light. Even this monster of hell that he had created in the body of Arthas, a small part of his soul still resisted him, still denied him full control, otherwise he would have already wrought devastation to the whole of this world and Azeroth too was he not held back by this tiny conscience.

And to make this even more aggravating, the Light still protected him! He could not harm this stupidly small part of Arthas and neither corrupt it because of that damned Light shield!...

In the end, Ner'zhul understood that, even with using the most powerful force in the universe, the Light would never bend. Such was its power.

He discarded that small stupid part of Arthas and returned to the front of their/his mind, where darkness, malice and a need for destruction only existed…

XxxxX

The chapel door opened and through the flames a shadow leapt outside, drawing Arthas' attention who rapidly turned to face his foe.

Naruto stood as tall as his young frame allowed, the Ashbringer in hand.

The Lich King squinted at the boy, then laughed a malevolent laughter.

"**I just wish that it would be worth killing you, boy."**

"Oh you'll be surprised…" Naruto smirked as he charged forward, clashing his blade against Arthas' Frostmourne. To little avail though, as the lord of the dead didn't seem to even put any effort into blocking the attack.

'_Maybe with a small burst…' _Naruto thought as he channeled the Light through his blade, making it blaze in its might.

It was then that Arthas grunted against the weight of justice.

In the following seconds the two swordsmen exchanged rapid strikes, clashing their swords again and again. Both of them always relied more on the power of their weapon rather than speed, so if one on-looked from afar all he could see was a dance of light and darkness flickering among the ruins.

Frostmourne couldn't cut through the Ashbringer and the latter couldn't shatter the first. As the stalemate continued, Naruto finally gathered the courage to look up into his opponent's eyes. What he saw there shocked him.

In between the flickers of light and fiery steel their weapons made as they clashed, Naruto, if only for a brief, fragile moment, behind the crown of the Lich King saw a pair of sad eyes, sad blue eyes like his, shattered in tragedy, swallowed in darkness.

And in the next moment the cruelty, the hate, the malice that seemed to eternally burn in his eyes returned ten-fold.

With a vicious strike Arthas sent the blonde boy backwards. Naruto parried the attack and his feet dragged against the ground, barely holding him steady.

"**To think that someone so young could become the next Ashbringer… Tirion was a bigger fool than I previously thought. What a shame…" **he bantered with himself, barely noticing the hateful glare Naruto gave him from behind the Ashbringer, or rather, not registering it as a threat.

"Tirion-sensei…" Naruto began and the Light within his sword flickered.

"Was the only light in a world filled to the brim with the darkness of solitude… I don't expect you to understand that, Arthas." It was the first time that Naruto used the Menethil's name.

"Were you ever alone? Were you ever unable to trust your own shadow, fearing its hateful glares?" Surprisingly, Arthas said nothing as the boy continued.

"You think you know how to hate, but you are weak. Succumbing to the darkness, that alluring darkness for a purpose not your own… merely a pawn in the game."

"_He may seem like an all-mighty emperor of evil, and he truly is such a monster, but in reality Arthas himself was just a weak-willed human, who fell to the charming promises of darkness." Tirion sighed heavily, as memories filled his eyes._

"_I… have lost much in my life, kid. My own son…" He didn't elaborate._

"_If there is one thing I have learned…"_

"**Why don't you flee, boy? How can you think that you will ever be a match, for the king of the dead?" **Arthas taunted, pointing Frostmourne at Naruto.

"Honor, you scumbag, no matter how dire the battle is…" his eyes turned feral.

"NEVER!" a blast of power filled his blade, red and gold mixed to create a vivid orange that reverberated to the very ground, causing it to quake.

"FORSAKE IT!" and like a blast of Light Naruto charged Arthas, who gathered his own power to parry the blow.

"**If you think loneliness is enough pain…" **Arthas finally pushed Naruto back, who skittered away and touched down, breathing heavily, sweat forming on his features.

"**Try some agony, taste some fear, bear the burden of a thousand souls, the whole world on your shoulders!" **It sounded more like he was proud of himself.

Or rather enjoyed it.

"**Oh the agony and the darkness! When I am done with this world, it will be a primary production stage for my Scourge armies. Even in death boy, there can be only one. True. KING!" **Pointing Frostmourne at Naruto, now Arthas sent a chain of energy towards the boy. Stunned by the unexpected attack and the strain of his previous own, Naruto could do little to nothing to dodge. He took the strike, and the chains immediately went for his neck, chocking him. The Ashbringer dropped to the ground.

"**In the end, taking your soul might be worth something." **Naruto screamed in pain as his very essence was drawn into the sword…

And then Arthas stopped, stunned on his own. He immediately dropped the chain and clutched at his chest, grunting in pain and breathing heavily.

"**What is this… demonic… energies…?" **he was practically also made from demonic energies, but taking on their corruption could make him lose control of his minions, his armies, draining demonic powers would unbalance all of his strength.

That was the moment everyone had waited for.

Arthas, while being stunned by the demonic energies he had absorbed, was helpless to avoid Kakashi as the ninja dived in for the kill. With a lone sharingan spinning wildly, his Raikiri wielding hand struck straight for the Lich King's heart. Without the fear of being struck down by the blade, Kakashi pushed hard on that advantage, denting and piercing Arthas' armor while he could only grunt and take the damage.

But not being able to keep the technique alive for long, Kakashi's attack didn't pierce Arthas himself and so he fell back, leaving room for his two companion's and getting to tend on his student, Naruto.

As he was preparing to stand back on his feet and grant his assailants a miserable and torturous death, Gorley rushed in with a hammer of Light in his hands, smashing it on the still recovering Arthas. A second too late had he been and he would have been slashed by Frostmourne**.**

With the weakened Lich King stunned for a few vital seconds, Poll and Sasuke popped in the scene, nodding to each other.

Together they began their respective techniques, Poll mumbling magic words while Sasuke went through seals.

"**Katon: Gokakyou no Jutsu!" **Sasuke exclaimed as from his mouth flew a massive fireball two times Arthas' size, while a fireball of much smaller scale but packed with concentrated power shot from Poll's hands.

Arthas mustered his power to block the attacks with his gauntlet, yet the force of them both was enough to let him fly above the ground.

Sakura then dived in, right underneath Arthas and gathered all the power she could muster in her right hand. Runes and purple circles of arcane energy adorned her skin, a courtesy of Poll, empowering her following attack.

"Sanarooo!" she cried and slammed her fist on Arthas' back, him howling in pain as he was shot to the sky.

Kakashi shot up for the final strike, gathering chakra in his feet to boost himself from atop a roof up to the sky, right above Arthas. Both of his hands crackled with the illuminating light of a Raikiri.

"**Double Lighting Quake!" **and with both hands outstretched he pierced straight through Arthas' form like a blur, landing gracefully without a scratch on the ground while the Lich King crashed like thunder, kicking up dust and debris, the land quaking from the force.

Kakashi's demeanor faltered and he nearly fell on his face, but managed to keep himself on one knee. He hastily hid his sharingan, trying to conserve any and all energy, panting heavily from the consecutive strikes he had to deal. So many lighting blades in one day took a heavy toll on him.

Gorley emerged with Naruto clinging on the dwarf's shoulders, soon followed by Sakura, Poll and Sasuke. Even Richard, strangely silent for once, stood among them.

Kakashi smiled "Well… glad this one's over…" he panted out. Richard raised an invisible eyebrow at him.

"On the contrary, oh so frivolous friend, I think you've pissed him so much he is now bent on raping your whole family tree."

They heard a grunt from the debris and everyone turned with wide, fearful eyes towards the site. Arthas, clinging to Frostmourne, slowly stood to one knee, grunting.

"**It's been… a long time… since lowly vermin such as you managed to go this far…" **he was obviously shaken by the previous barrage, but he didn't seem nowhere near being dead.

Arthas rose from the debris, the glowing coldness of his eyes the first visible thing.

"**It is time to end this charade." **

Kakashi made an effort to stand in a battle stance, but it was futile as his knees buckled underneath him, spent. Gorley looked at the Ashbringer, but the blade was firmly clasped in Naruto's hands, so the dwarf went for his own trusty mace, even if he knew that it would be to little avail.

"The Lich King is crude and reckless in all his viciousness. Be ready for an opening." The dwarf spoke and Poll nodded, he and Sasuke having much fight in them still.

Icy tendrils formed on Frostmourne's tip.

"**Die." **And as if a verdict was to be executed, lances of ice shot towards the group like a blizzard.

Poll was quick to raise a wall of fire to protect his friends, making the lances melt and drop as harmless water.

Even though impressed, Arthas didn't relent as his power rose. Snow and chilling winds started to kick up around him, as if the air itself was freezing at his presence. As a maelstrom of coldness he approached them.

"Naruto! Kakashi! Fall back! We'll handle the rest!" Gorley shouted but when he turned to his right to address Naruto, the boy was already gone.

"What the… that fool!" he yelled as he saw Naruto charging at Arthas.

With a fierce yell the blonde poised his sword to strike, a beacon of fierce light as he striked Arthas with all his might.

Yet he was swatted like a candle in a snowstorm…

Arthas parried the blow and with one swift movement sent the blonde boy flying sideways. Not sparing a second glance, Arthas kept on towards the group of mortals that dared defy him.

"**Even here the glorious Light haunts me… how pathetic." **He chimed, reffering to the paladin-hood that Gorley and Naruto shared.

"**No matter, you, the last of your kind, shall perish here on this very ground, and rise once again to serve me!" **he laughed, and that hollow laughter froze their hearts.

Kakashi, his eyebrows forming a visible scowl, eyed towards his student, who was lying apparently unconscious on one side, ignored by the Lich King. Maybe that was the chance they needed…

But would Naruto recover in time?

XxxxX

"Tazuna-san, it's a little quiet don't you think…" Hinata asked warily as she and her team stepped down the path, the usual sounds of nature around them silent, with no sign of life whatsoever. Even the sun up in the sky didn't seem to move, like the whole world had frozen, even though it was ridiculous for that to be.

"Indeed, usually the birds make quite the ruckus at such an hour." Tazuna said, eyeing his surroundings warily.

Kurenai was frigid, preparing herself mentally and bodily for combat, fearing for an ambush at any moment, yet trying hard not to be paranoid about it. This could be a genjutsu, but it had to be a really powerful one for her and Hinata's byakugan to not be able to dispel.

"Hey, I see someone in the distance!" Kiba exclaimed loudly and they all turned their attention down the road. Hinata activated her bloodline and squinted towards the figures.

She gasped.

"What's the matter? Hinata, what do you see?" Kurenai implored, as the girl in question quickly deactivated her Byakugan.

"It's… people, running away, terrified…" she said, but her tongue seemed strained, as if she was forcing the words out of her mouth. Kurenai scowled.

Hinata glanced at her teacher.

"They're being hunted down… by monsters… they seem… alive but… they have no chakra… sensei… they are dead…" she spoke fearfully, this being her first time that she saw an actual undead.

"I confirm that statement. My bugs sense no chakra from the assailants whatsoever." Shino spoke up. Then he paused.

"Plus they taste horribly."

Kiba put on a ridiculous face "Well, it's not like I'd eat a zombie or something even if you forced me…"

"Enough chatter, these people need help! Shino, stay and protect Tazuna at all costs!" Kurenai spoke and the Aburame nodded, taking position in front of the bridge-builder.

As Team 8 rushed to the rescue, Hinata couldn't help the feeling of dread that was building up inside her as if something… someone… was in danger. In perish.

"RUN! Run for your life!" a village yelled as he sprinted beyond Team 8. Kurenai made haste to grab one of the runners for questioning, before he could escape.

"Answer me! What's going on here? What are those things?" The terrorized villager glanced between the woman and the undead.

"Those things? I don't know! I was soundly taking a nap and next thing I know these monsters are gutting my whole family! Please! My daughter is all I have left! Let me get to her!" he pleaded desperately, and Kurenai grunted as she let him go, displeased at the lack of information.

"Looks like we'll have to make do with just killing them…" she spoke.

"Team! Scattered formation! Our objective is to protect the remainder of the villagers! Watch your backs… and stay alive." She touched both their shoulders, and even though scared and sweating, her students prepared themselves for combat.

She had to admit though, even she couldn't help the urge to vomit as these monsters humans in half…

XxxxX

"Shall I call in the troops, sir?" an orc asked Thassarian, who watched the carnage at the Waves village from atop a hill. He shook his head.

"No, not yet. It is not the time for the world to know our presence yet, brother." He spoke, watching with careful, calculating eyes the carnage bellow.

"Sir, if I may, but lord Darion has already sent messengers to this world's leaders, hasn't he?" the orc continued, his voice unsure.

Thassarian sighed "Indeed he has, but only to the leaders. Very few denizens of this world know of our presence, and most of these few work for us. Now go, dispatch a group of our warriors to the northern side of this village, tell them to kill all scourge in sight, ignore the humans. The rest shall be on stand-by. Oh, and bring me the new guy." He ordered.

The orc nodded "Suffer well." He saluted, and left Thassarian alone.

The death knight sighed, grasping a locket within his pocket, an image of his sister flashing within his mind…

"Suffer well…"

Thassarian grabbed his runeblade, and with it in hand departed from the hill silently.

XxxxX

"I think… this is the last of them." Kurenai said, panting. Her students nodded as they all jumped away from the small field of battle, greatly unnerved by the gruesome corpses of the undead.

Kiba had to block his nose, above all, for the stench was overwhelming.

On the other hand, Hinata still couldn't shake the feeling of uneasiness from her heart. Something… terrible was happening within this village. Something dark and evil was stirring and churning in there. And she could feel it… if only very distinctly, she could feel a couple of beacons of light within that darkness.

As she rose her eyes to the sky, an illusion of shorts took over here as shadows crept through every crevice of fire and smoke and any visible patch of blue. That shadow devoured everything, leaving only a void behind.

And the source of it all was at the center of the village.

Then she felt it, that so familiar warmth that washed over her whenever Naruto used the Light, a feeling of security that bathed her in comfort from the beacon of the blonde's powers.

Yet the darkness she was feeling rose and devoured Naruto's light, extinguishing it. In a moment, all the warmth in the world faded, and Hinata's calming mind was now blank with one terrible idea.

With his light put out so suddenly…

Could Naruto be dead…?

"Hinata!" Kurenai could do little to stop the girl as she sprinted into the burning village, not a care for corpses, undead, fleeing villagers, fire or debris, shadows or demons, all that she cared about on that particular moment, maybe the first moment in her life that was her actually following her heart to the fullest, was to find, and help Naruto.

If he was still alive.

She prayed with all her heart, to any Kami or Light that may be hearing her.

XxxxX

Gorley was clever enough to avoid parrying or any other contact with Frostmourne, for he knew that his mace could never withstand a direct hit. Only two blades in the world could stand up to this sword, the one, was held in the hands of the fallen blonde, and the second…

No one knew the whereabouts of Shadowmourne after the fall of Icecrown Citadel. The blade, along with its wielder, was lost.

Still, in the heat of battle, it was hard to not parry a blow purely by instinct, thus ending his life.

Not one to be held back by such fears though, Gorley's battle-hardened mind kept up against the Lich King, if only barely, and only because Poll and the child named Sasuke were there to assist him.

Even though he could read the Lich King's movements though, his body was taking the whole tax. Soon he began to move slower, more clumsily, while Arthas' assault was relentless.

"Poll…!" he yelled in desperation as one of the strikes nearly gutted him.

Knowing what that call heralded, Poll quickly turned to Sasuke.

"Kid, fall back! Now! Or else you'll get caught in it!" he yelled and Sasuke, even though reluctantly, obliged, not knowing what kind of powers these two still had in store.

Poll began chanting a spell, and soon a fireball the size of a human head began to form between his hands. Quickly the ball gained in size and Sasuke, far away from the two, could feel its heat even at this distance.

"Gorley!" Poll yelled as he finished his incantation and shot the gigantic fireball, now the size of a Gokakyou but packed with the destructive force of chaotic magic, shot towards the duelers like a bullet.

Gorley, already knowing how to move in this encounter, quickly arose a shield around himself that provided immunity to the outside world for a few brief seconds.

Yet a few brief seconds were all that he needed.

Falling back, The Lich King stopped his pursuit, knowing that hitting a paladin warped in a Divine Shield was futile. Yet a little too late did he notice the gigantic sphere of power that was shooting towards him.

In the last moment the snowstorm around the Lich King rose to his aid and the two powers clashed with a thunderous roar as the fire burned the snow, creating thick mist around the Lich King, obscuring his vision.

The "Relentless Winter" around the Lich King was defeated from the might of the fireball, but he himself was unharmed.

Yet the purpose of that attack was to stall, not to kill.

Gorley, graced with the amount of time his friend had bought for him, was chanting a long, powerful hymn. Golden wings had formed on his back and the Light danced around him like a wild tornado.

Arthas knew this spell…

In years past, when he was just a boy, he had witnessed something that few mortals probably had. When the Crusade of the scarlet's was still pure, Uther the Lightbringer, first human paladin and his slaughtered by his own hand mentor, had used the very same spell.

The user amassed a tremendous amount of Holy Light within him, which with the help of "Avenging Wrath", the two wings of vengeance that were fueled from feelings of retribution, was boosted even higher.

It was the highest possible Exorcism spell in the fact that it could banish a Pit Lord to oblivion.

But the Paladin using it would be crippled for days.

Arthas gathered power in his arm, intent on stopping that spell from being cast. It reminded him… of what he once was.

And he loathed it.

A hand of power shot of his arm, going like a bullet for the paladin. Gorley opened his eyes, filled with Light and power and with a singular movement, all the pent up energy within him shot towards the Lich King, obliterating the death grip, hitting him with humongous force.

An explosion that shook the very earth commenced and everything, if only for a brief, fragile moment, was bathed in the glory of the light, a brief moment that resounded in eternity.

Naruto, shaken out of his unconsciousness a few moments before Gorley cast the spell, slowly sat up, rubbing his aching head and his sore body. He opened his eyes widely now, to clearly see that there was… nothing at all around him.

Everything was white.

Startled and a bit fearful, the blonde quickly stood up, yet quickly lost balance as there was no ground, no air, no nothing for his senses to navigate him.

Soon he stood up straight again, using the sight of his own body to guide his movements and the feeling of unseen earth under his feet.

"Where… am I?"

"… am I?"

"… am I…?"

"…I…..?"

His voice seemed to echo endlessly.

"**You… are… Ashbringer…" **a voice spoke, but he couldn't determine location, distance, not even if the words were spoken in that order or if it was just a jumble of noise. It felt as if it spoke directly into his mind.

"Who are you?" he yelled to nothing, looking around the whiteness, confused. The disorienting emptiness made him fall again.

"**I am... I… Light… guide you… Descent… into darkness…" **

"Darkness? Light? Guide me? What the hell are you talking about?" he yelled, now angered, at the eerie voice that didn't seem to be in a mood to make sense.

"**You… must fight… persevere… Lich King… Ashbringer…" **the voice seemed to become a little clearer, but it's hushed tone remained unchanged.

"**Only… you… can kill… Arthas… End… his reign…"** Naruto, frantically trying to absorb the small pieces of information the voice gave him, was shocked. Him? To kill that monster?

"I… can't do that! Haven't you seen him? We all fought together against him, and yet he keeps crushing us! He's… he's invincible…" shocked at his very self, Naruto fell to his knees as he realized what his words just now implied.

He was giving up. He was losing his determination. The icy chill of the Lich King's eyes was slowly burning away his very heart…

"**Remember them… when in hope you doubt…" **his eyes shot wide open and before him stood a creature of uncountable power. A body formed of crystals and a steady, rhythmic yet very calming humming where it's main characteristics as it floated before him, it's crystals all of a jagged style but still perfect and smooth in every way possible.

It didn't speak its name. It was as if Naruto instinctively knew. The Light was talking to him through his soul.

This was A'dal. Leader of the Naaru, the children of the light, powerful creatures blessed in its glory, harbingers of its will and devastators of evil, the very blade of the Ashbringer was crafted by a crystal that contained the very essence of a powerful Naaru. The soul of that Naaru existed in the glowing gem that floated near the tip of the blade and was the core of the sword's power.

Yet, like all Naaru, it had two aspects. The Naaru were Light but they could also be darkness. If the blade was corrupted by a dark soul then it would take on another, darker form than the blessed one it now had.

A'dal's presence though made Naruto forget all about… anything. Possibilities, life, death, love, compassion, hate, nothing of these mattered in the arms of the light. Heaven was bliss… literarily. It was warm and comforting and all worries and fears just washed away as a feeling of euphoria took over his whole being. Naruto forgot all about the hardships of his life, the prospects of his future, the love of his friends, the hate of his enemies. He forgot his very name.

No, the light didn't force all these away from him. It was his choice. _He _wanted to forget. For him, this childish arrogance of the world was bliss.

"…_!" _a ring, like the soft whistling of the wind. Naruto didn't open his eyes, lost in the comforting warmth of the Naaru.

"…_to…!" _that voice… he knew that voice… in all of this void that voice made sense where madness conquered, it brought light in the shadows of the day, it guided him…

"_NARUTO!" _he knew this voice… how could he ever forget anyhow? The voice of the one person in the world aside from Tirion to believe, trust, and love him…

Hinata…

XxxxX

"NARUTO!" Hinata yelled in desperation as she saw her fellow paladin and also her crush lie on the ground at the Lich King's feet. Hinata had no idea who that man was, but that didn't matter. The aura of evil that she was feeling to pulsate outwards of this village, the suffocating darkness that haunted her the moment she stepped in this area…

He was the source of it all.

"Let me go, shrimp! I have to save my student damn it! DAMN IT!" Kakashi shouted in outrage as Gorley wrestled to keep him down. With his previous attack they had bought themselves enough time to fall back towards the chapel. Using the behind door, they would escape. It was the best course of action considering their opponent and the circumstances.

The only flaw was that, with Naruto's current position, anyone who would go to grab and save him would end up morning food for Frostmourne.

And to put the cherry on the top, Team 8 had arrived on the battlefield. Kiba and Kurenai looked flabbergasted, if not disgusted too, at the sight before them, as countless corpses, undead and once living, littered the area. Guts, limbs, heads and generally scattered body parts lied everywhere and the corpses that were still intact weren't an eye candy either.

But Hinata paid those things no mind. Naruto, who lied unmoving at the feet of the Lich King, was her main concern.

Arthas was extremely weakened by that attack, but he would not let that show. A few sacrifices from his minions and he would recover somewhat. A couple of ghouls then fell to the ground, lifeless, as he absorbed their dark energy. Most of his troops in this area where already destroyed by either him or his enemies, but he cared little.

Before him lied the Ashbringer and its chosen champion. If he could put his hand on that blade, if he could claim that boy for his army…

Then any pitiful resistance that still remained would be forever vanquished. Any hope that these fools might have had nurtured would be snuffed out.

And then he felt it, a new presence, an annoying pest that stung like a thorn on his side.

"**What do we have here?" **menacingly, like a predator sizing his prey, he turned towards her with calculating cold eyes, spelling doom and curiosity. **"Another harbinger of the Light? Another fire to extinguish." **All patience decimated, the Lich King didn't waste a moment to shoot a haze of ice lances at Hinata.

With nerves ready for battle and a steeled resolve, Hinatas' flexible body had ilittle problem with dodging the projectiles.

Aside from a paladin, she was a shinobi. And shinobi are flexible. Cunning.

She had to lure him in melee combat, away from Naruto. It proved harder than anticipated, for he wouldn't budge an inch. Even so closing in on melee proved to be a disadvantage in the long run. The Lich Kings' armor rendered her Jyuuken useless. The enchanted metal let no chakra through and every slice from Frostmourne chilled the very air it cut. The very coldness around the Lich king made her body numb and the continued dodging was tiring her out.

Steadily she tried to absorb him into her own pace, falling back. He didn't seem to follow, keeping his wits about him, wary of trickery. She decided to go another way. Anger.

"Is that all the lord of the dead can muster?" her words didn't shake and her voice did not waver, but Arthas remained unresponsive. He simply reached out one hand, pulling her towards him with unseen force, poising Frostmourne in her trajectory. Hinata, in a small version of the Kaiten pushed chakra out of one side of her body to alter her course, barely missing being impaled but crashing on the Lich Kings' armor. With a yell and a thud she crashed before his feet, helpless in that stunned and dazed moment.

"**to sacrifise your life for the one you love…"** Arthas caressed Frostmourne's cold, runed surface as one of his boots came down on her side, immobilizing her. Hinata yelled in agony as her ribs broke under the weight.

"**How foolish… how humane… it sickens me." **Out of any sweet memory of gore and into reality, his blade came down to end her life.

XxxxX

"_**Are you going to… sit and watch as your mate gets butchered?" **_The Kyuubi asked with a fanged grin. Naruto looked down sadly.

"I can't… he's too strong… I have failed…"

Self accusation was another human thing that Kyuubi loathed. But it was still heavily amused and satisfied with his jailor's suffering. Naruto with only half a consciousness watched Hinata fight, putting her life on the line to protect him. Fear, anxiety, rage, hatred, sadness, all those feelings stirred and warped inside him like a maelstrom.

"_**Open your eyes kit. Watch. Her. DIE!" **_Kyuubi commanded with vicious glee and Naruto helplessly obliged. The Lich King was crushing her under his boot. His blade was ready to claim her soul. Images flew through his mind, her smiling, laughing face, her shy gestures, the kind, helpful demeanor, the lightweight wings of her soul that helped his own clipped ones soar once again…

Hinata was there, in many parts of his life, in many times of need. She cooked when he was penniless and hungered, she consolated him in earlier years when he got bullied, cheered him on his training, shared her problems as he shared his. She was a part of his life, more than a friend or a lover, a deep bond tied their souls, one of destiny. Her laugh and her tears… he loved them all.

So he clang on that resolve, made of love and tears, filled with the sands of time. With it he grasped his emotions and forged them into a single determination.

His eyes and will where no longer helpless.

Kyuubi looked satisfied as he saw his characteristic crimson chakra seep heavily into the blonde. Yet, even while enveloped in dark energies, the Light of his heart shone brightly.

XxxxX

A wave of red energy crashed into Arthas with his blade inches away from Hinata. He was sent flying, crashing into a house, decimating it.

Naruto stood with eyes full of murder. A cloak of red energy enveloped him, creating the shape of a fox with two tails. The Ashbringer in his hand had gained a jagged look similar to a chainsaw, while the golden hand orb was now a blood-red fox head.

Arthas rose from the debris and red and blue clashed, the fury of rage with the chill of the grave.

Naruto took a battle stance and grasped his sword with both hands, while Arthas poised Frostmourne. The enraged teen then shot out in a red haze, intent on brutally killing his opponent for touching the woman he loved and cherished.

They clashed and Naruto fought with all the valiance of his existence.

For Hinata.

XxxxX

I didn't have any ideas for an Omake, but thankfuly after a few days I came up with something that might be entertaining for some, boring for others :P Hope you enjoy.

**WARNING: The following bollsheet are all meant for commical purposes and may/will/shall/shouldn't reflect the author's feelings or ideas over certain characters and circumstances. (M content)  
**

When NARUTO eats ramen, a kitten somewhere in the world dies. Stop the agony!

HINATA is the first Hyuuga ever to develop a new doujutsu, the **Stalk-u-gan** (Trans: **All-Stalking-Eye)**

SASUKE isn't Emo nor Gay. It's called an Emotional Homosexual. (On a side-note, Gay in english literrarily means happy. No idea how it ever connected with homos.)

JIRAIYAS' research is ALL about WOMEN, while it refers to a MALE audience. Twisted logic.

PAIN is the cousin of KAIN from C&C.

FACT: A normal forest can sometimes cast Chidori. A thousand chirping birds.

CHOUJI is the reason the tailed beasts began to hide in jinchuuriki. Someone once told him they are tasty.

Nobody knows that INO is secretly cultivating man-eating plants. Nobody that's alive at least.

LEES' flying kisses aren't illusions, but real bombs meant for terrorism. Against females.

If you see GAI running around in his green spandex, hide your children. Presserve their innocence for at least a minute longer.

Everyone thinks that KAKASHI has a boner while reading Icha Icha in public, yet that boner is exactly like his face. No one has ever seen it.

KAKASHI (x2) is so fast at applying his mask, not even the nurse that helped give birth to him managed to see his face before he hid it.

ANKO loves Dango.

In deduction of that, ANKO loves balls.

NEJI sings the 'What a wonderful world' song in his mind everytime he goes '**Kaiten!' **(Imagine that in slow motion and please tell me it's not hillarious.)**  
**

TENTEN loves weapons. Especialy the ones that kill.

SHIKAMARU is so lazy, his shadow is faster than him.

GAARA accidentanly once ate a bit of his sand. It tasted like chicken.

KANKURO wears completely black clothing in the middle of the desert. 'Nuff said.

TEMARI doesn't hate windy days. She MAKES them.

MADARA usually dreams of puppies, kittens, butterflies, ponies, unicorns, rainbows, and generaly all that kind of crap that he's gonna butcher and extinquish when he dominates the world.

When people called DEIDARA a cyclops, he called them 'You-have-5-seconds-to-run'.

SASORI has a multiple personality disorder. Hence the many puppets.

When ITACHI stares at you in the eye, you know you're in deep shit. You know you're in deeper shit if when he keeps staring.

When HONDER writes these kinds of shit, you will kindly leave a review stating at how horrendous this experience has been as it bit by bit scarred you for life and seared your very soul. Or made you do this face - -.-


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